UC-NRLF 


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GIFT    OF 
JANE  Ko;^ATHER 


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Tertullian  and  His 
Apologetics 


A  Study  of  Early  Christian  Thought 


B^ 


Rev.  John  B.  Delaunay,  C  S.  C,  PH.  D.,  J.  C  D. 

Professor  of  Church  History  and  Canon  Law 

Holy  Cross  College 

Washing-ton 

D.  C. 


University  Press 

Notre  Dame 
Ind. 


X^j^-t^U 


SATHER 
Imprimi  permittitur: 

A.  MORRISSEY,  C.  S.  C. 
Sup.  Prov. 

Nihil  obstat: 

M.  McGarry,  C.  S.  C. 
Censor  deputatns 

Imprimatur: 

►J^  Hermannus, 

Episcopus  Wayne-Castrensis 

Wayne-Castris, 

die  9  Sept.  1914. 


PREFACE. 


The  acknowledged  value  of  recent  publications 
dealing  with  Tertullian  makes  it  questionable  whether 
any  further  attempt  to  define  his  position  as  an 
Apologist  would  not  be  superfluous — not  to  say  pre- 
sumptuous. In  a  field  so  carefully  gone  over  by  such 
scholars  as  Noeldechen,  Monceaux  and  d'Ales,  would 
any  gleanings  be  left  for  less  skillful  and  less  author- 
itative students? 

In  answer,  a  distinction  is  necessary:  undoubtedly 
Tertullian's  life  and  every  point  of  his  writings 
have  been  adequately  and  exhaustively  described. 
On  the  other  hand,  that  there  may  not  still  be  room 
to  offer  a  synthetic  view  of  the  author's  mind  and 
soul  is  less  certain.  For  instance:  What  is  the 
unexpressed  sub-stratum  of  Tertullian's  expressed 
thought  upon  which  he  rears  the  stately  edifice  of 
his  apologetics?  What  are  the  relations  of  every 
part  of  the  work  to  this  underlying  principle?  These 
and  like  questions  still  demand  solution  and  the 
present  essay  is  a  modest  attempt  to  solve  these 
difficult  problems. 

It  is  needless  to  state  that  in  the  fulfillment  of  the 
task  assumed,  the  works  of  the  above-named  scholars 
were  ever  before  the  eyes  of  the  writer,  affording 
sure  guidance  in  the  many  difficulties  of  the  under- 
taking. Indeed,  no  higher  claim  is  proffered  here 
than   that  of  having  adapted  to  a  specific  purpose 


111 


^'84677 


iv  ^  PREFACE 

the  materials  so  industriously  gathered  and  skill- 
fully arranged  by  more  competent  critics. 

The  main  source  of  the  essay,  however,  has  been 
the  text  itself  of  TertuUian.  Poring  closely  over 
its  lines,  I  have  tried  to  make  it  yield  all  the  light 
that  it  could  throw  on  the  question,  mindful  always 
of  the  dangers  of  subjective  criticism  which  would 
read  into  a  document  personal  prejudices  and  pre- 
vailing ideas. 

The  text  of  TertuUian  being  exceedingly  difficult 
of  translation,  the  writer  felt  diffident  about  offering 
his  own  reading  of  many  vexed  passages  and  has  in 
the  main  followed  verbatim  the  text  of  the  Oxford 
translation  which  makes  up  in  literal  accuracy  for 
what  it  sometimes  lacks  in  smoothness  of  diction. 

It  is  a  pleasant  duty  to  acknowledge  my  great 
indebtedness  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  D.  Maguire, 
Professor  of  Latin  Literature  in  the  Catholic  Univer- 
sity of  America,  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  George  M.  Sauvage, 
C.  S.  C,  of  Holy  Cross  College,  Washington,  D.  C, 
and  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  Leonard  Carrico,  C.  S.  C, 
Professor  of  Literature  in  the  University  of  Notre 
Dame,  Ind.,  for  their  many  helpful  suggestions  and 
valuable  assistance. 


TO    MY 

UNCLE   AND    BENEFACTOR 

B.    A. 

THIS    WORK    IS 

AFFECTIONATELY    AND  GRATEFULLY 

DEDICATED. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


PART  I. 
FORMATION  OF  HIS  LEADING  IDEA. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Influence  of  His  Age. 

Influence  of  surroundings. — I.  Pagan  disorders:  Anarchy 
and  corruption  in  politics;  immorality  in  social  life;  multi- 
plicity of  cults  exerts  no  moral  influence;  character  of 
contemporary  literature  (love  of  archaic  forms,  dilettantism, 
immorality). — II.  Opposing  elements:  Influence  of  Philos- 
ophy; popularity  of  Philosophers;  nature  and  form  of  their 
teaching;  its  eff"ect  upon  morality  and  literature;  upon 
legislation,  upon  the  dogmas  of  the  pagan  religion,  upon 
its  cult;  Apuleius,  type  of  a  Philosopher  and  devotee. — 
III.  These  two  tendencies  blended  in  individuals:  The 
Christians  alone  unite  purity  of  life  with  nobility  of  thought; 
their  opponents, — the  law,  the  crowd,  the  Philosophers; 
appealing  character  of  their  doctrine. 

CHAPTER  II. 

Influence  of  His  Life  and  General  Ideas. 

Sources  and  purpose  of  the  chapter. — I.  Biography  of 
Tertullian:  early  literary  impressions;  influence  of  home 
surroundings;  the  study  of  rhetoric,  philosophy  and  law; 
his  moral  failings  a  factor  in  his  development;  the  weak 
hold  of  religion  on  his  mind  and  conduct;  Philosophy 
becomes    the    guiding    principle    of    his    life;     early    writings 

vii 


^Ui"'.         •    '  •     ..  ;    .CONTENTS 


<  < 


.',  ^rtdtSr  tfnat  'mfl'dence-,     Hi?  first   approach   to   the    Christian 
'  '  'trtitli;     eJcinehts  .i>£''Ct:j-istianity    which    appealed    to    him; 
steps    of    his    conversion. — II.      General    ideas:     hatred    of 
dilettantism;     opinions   on   Greek   ideals   and   morals;     sim- 
plicity a  criterion  of  truth ;    views  on  social  and  civic  duties. 

CHAPTER  III. 

His  Leading  Idea. 

The  new  convert  ready  for  action;  groundwork  of  his 
apologetics  lies  in  his  views  on  truth  and  error. — I.  Two 
mainsprings  of  truth:  reason,  or  the  soul  naturally  Christian; 
faith,  or  the  soul  supernaturally  Christian. — II.  Error,  the 
enemy  of  truth:  the  reason  perverted  by  the  body,  depraved 
by  surroundings,  dragged  down  by  passions;  faith  enjoys 
but  a  limited  field  of  vision,  blinded  by  prejudices  from 
education;  relations  of  philosophy  to  heresy. — Distinctive 
marks  of  truth  and  error. 


PART  II. 

t 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  HIS  LEADING  IDEA. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

His  Apologetics  against  the  Pagans. 

Tertullian's  confidence  in  the  convincing  power  of  truth 
and  realization  of  the  obstacles  to  truth. — Choice  of  method 
and  progress  in  its  application. — I.  First  step  of  develop- 
ment in  the  Ad  Nationes:  removal  of  prejudices  is  the 
purpose  of  the  treatise;  carrying  out  of  purpose;  relation 
with  leading  idea. — II.  Second  step  of  development  in  the 
Apologeticum:  variety  of  opinions  as  to  its  purpose;  inten- 
tion of  author  to  point  out  remedy  for  the  state  of  pagan 
society;  fulfilling  of  intention;  conclusion  of  the  work. — 
III.  Third  step  in  De  Testimonio  Animae:  a  new  testimony; 
value  of  that  testimony;  appeal  to  the  soul  freed  from 
prejudices. 


CONTENTS  ix 

CHAPTER  V. 

His  Apologetics  against  Heretics. 

Christian  truth  persecuted  by  heretics;  proper  attitude 
of  Christians  towards  the  truth  must  be  taught. — I.  The 
truth  in  its  fountain-head:  the  "regula  fidei";  its  origin; 
its  formula;  contrary  interpretations  by  the  faithful  and 
heretics;  appeal  of  heretics  to  Scripture. — II.  The  truth 
in  its  transmission:  from  Christ  to  the  Apostles;  from  the 
Apostles  to  the  Apostolic  Churches;  from  the  latter  to  our 
day;  objections  of  heretics  exposed  and  answered. — III.  The 
tru-th  in  its  actual  state  to  be  tested  by  certain  criteria: 
antiquity;  immutability;  unity;  purity. — Strength  of  the 
argument   of   prescription. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

His  Change  of  Principle. 

Nothing  to  be  added  to  the  rule  of  faith;  the  new  prophecy 
and  the  Paraclete. — I  Tertullian's  first  deviation  from  his 
leading  idea:  exegesis  of  John  XVI.,  13;  revelation  not 
complete  till  Montanus;  justification  of  his  rigorism  in  the 
new  prophecies;  private  revelations  versus  Apostolic 
customs. — II.  External  step  towards  schism  :  the  Pallium 
vindicated;  the  garb  of  a  higher  religion. — III.  Further 
steps  into  schism:  the  probative  value  of  ecstasies;  the  new 
light  clears  away  all  doubts;  the  Psychics  and  the  Pneuma- 
tics; denial  of  the  right  of  the  hierarchy  to  command; 
attacks  against  the  Roman  Church. — The  destiny  of  the 
Tertullianistic  sect. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

His  Style. 

Tertullian's  ardent  faith  creative  of  his  style. — I.  How 
he  expressed  God:  proof  of  His  existence;  description  of 
His  attributes;  (omnipotence,  grandeur,  goodness  and 
justice,  love). — II.  The  history  of  man:  creation;  fall; 
promise  of  the  Alessiah;    the  humanity  of   Christ;     his  life; 


X  CONTENTS 

Christ's  lowliness  is  Tertullian's  glory;  Bossuet's  com- 
mentaries.— III.  The  life  of  the  Church:  characterization 
of  its  members  and  its  enemies;    the  last  judgment. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

His  Originality. 

Tertullian  little  accredited  for  originality. — I.  Influence 
of  previous  literature:  pagan  sources,;  Christian  apologists; 
the  spirit  of  his  apologetics  in  St.  Paul,  Justin,  Tatian;  the 
argument  of  prescription  in  Paul,  Papias  and  Irenaeus. — 
II.  Originality:  of  his  thought;  of  his  method;  the  argu- 
ment of  prescription  strengthened;  a  style  of  his  own. — 
More  original  because  more  personal. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Tertullian  and  the  Effects  of  His  Apologetics. 

I.  General  characterization  of  his  life,  thought  and 
writings:  Christian  with  his  whole  soul. — II.  His  influence 
on:  the  pagans,  his  contemporaries;  Minucius  Felix; 
Cyprian;  Arnobius;  Lactantius;  Novatian;  Jerome;  the 
Christian  poets;  Augustine;  Vincent  of  Lerins;  temporary 
oblivion  during  the  Middle  Ages;  Duns  Scotus;  revival 
of  interest  in  Tertullian  during  the  Rennaissance  and  the 
Reformation;  Bossuet  and  Pascal;  modern  interpretations 
and  misinterpretations  of  his  thought;  the  School  of 
Immanence. — Conclusion. 

Bibliography:     Manuscripts. — Editions. — Translations. — 

Literature 


PART  I. 


FORMATION   OF  HIS  LEADING  IDEA 


CHAPTER  I. 

INFLUENCE    OF    HIS    AGE. 

Summary. — Influence  of  surroundings. — I.  Pagan  disorders: 
Anarchy  and  corruption  in  politics;  immoralit}'  in  social 
life;  multiplicity  of  cults  exerts  no  moral  influence;  character 
of  contemporary  literature  (love  of  archaic  forms,  dilettantism, 
immorality). — II.  Opposing  elements:  Influence  of  Philos- 
ophy; popularity  of  Philosophers;  nature  and  form  of 
their  teaching;  its  effect  upon  morality  and  literature,  upon 
legislation,  upon  the  dogmas  of  the  pagan  religion,  upon  its 
cult;  Apuleius,  type  of  a  Philosopher  and  devotee. — III. These 
two  tendencies  blended  in  individuals:  The  Christians  alone 
unite  purity  of  life  with  nobility  of  thought;  their  opponents, 
— the  law,  the  crowd,  the  Philosophers;  appealing  character 
of  their  doctrine. 

There  is  in  all  human  life  a  period  during  which 
the  mind  is  more  receptive  than  active.  The  pressure 
of  the  past  in  the  form  of  tradition  and  the  pressure 
of  the  present,  or  social  influence,  have  much  to  do 
in  determining  the  first  stages  of  the  soul's  growth. 
Is  it  not  a  very  patent  fact  that  personality  often 
developes  in  the  direction  of  its  first  impulses? 
"Qualis  ab  incepto"  applies  to  very  many  people. 
It  is  important,  therefore,  for  our  purpose  to  dis- 
engage from  the  body  of  ideas  current  at  the  end  of 
the  second  century  those  main  questions  that  seemed 
most  vital  to  every  Roman  mind  and  the  answers 
that  were  commonly  given  them. 

Abundant  documents  serve  our  inquiry.  Whether 
a  representative  man  voices  the  notions  of  his  time 


2  TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

or  the  complex  movements  of  historical  events 
show  forth  the  political,  ethical  or  the  religious 
principles  which  are  their  ground  work,  the  task 
of  the  observer  consists  only  in  sifting  and  classifying 
the  evidences  thus  afforded  him. 

The  last  plaints  of  the  dying  Marcus  Aurelius 
contrast  vividly  with  the  hopeful  aspirations  of  his 
youth/  It  had  been  his  constant  wish  and  effort 
to  make  his  government  not  only  a  material  enforce- 
ment of  the  law,  but  also  a  means  towards  the 
inward  betterment  of  his  people.^  But  from  his 
deathbed  on  the  frozen  bank  of  the  Danube,^  the 
unhappy  Emperor  saw  how  fruitless  had  been  his 
endeavors.  While  speaking  the  last  words  of  advice 
to  his  son  Commodus,  he  sadly  foresaw  how  unworthy 
a  successor  he  was  to  have."*  The  utter  degradation 
of  the  Roman  aristocracy  and  the  corrupt  indifference 
of  the  people,  he  fully  realized.  It  had  been  beyond 
the  power  of  his  wisdom  and  authority  to  stay  the 
consequences  of  the  Roman  conception  of  the  im- 
perial office. 5  After  his  death  they  manifested  them- 
selves but  too  clearly.  Though  for  some  time  things 
went  on  prosperously,^  circumstances  soon  prepared 
the  situation  for  a  full  display  of  the  young  Emperor's 
passions.     The    Senate    was   by    him    debased    more 

^  Meditations:  x.  36  (English  transl.  George  Long,  London 
1862). 

^    Id.  IX.  29. 

3    Aurelius  Victor:  Goes.  16;    Epitome  16;    Herod  i,  2,  3. 

''    Marcus  Aurelius,  op.  cit.  IX.  3;    X.  36. 

5    G.  Kurth:  Origines  de  la  Civilization  moderne,  chap.  I. 

^  Herod.  I.  ch.  5,  6.  Gibbon:  History  of  the  Decline 
and  Fall  of  Roman  Empire,  ch.  1-3;  Duruy:  Histoire 
Romaine  ch.   79-81. 


TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS  3 

than  it  had  ever  been  before/  Whim  and  passion 
became  the  law  of  the  Empire.  The  people,  absorbed 
in  the  games,  showed  little  or  no  interest  in  affairs 
of  state.  Later,  In  the  murder  of  Pertinax  and  other 
Emperors,  the  army  manifested  a  growing  tendency 
towards  military  despotism.  How  much  of  its 
sacredness  the  Imperium  Romanum  had  lost  in 
the  Roman  mind  is  evidenced  by  the  public  sale 
of  the  Empire. 

The  family  organization  reflected  the  disorder 
prevailing  in  political  affairs.  The  patrician  child, 
no  longer  destined  to  serve  his  country  either  by 
arms  or  by  eloquence,  received  an  education  that 
fitted  him  for  a  life  of  inaction  and  pleasure.  Ter- 
tullian  was  able  to  say  that  divorce  had  become  the 
fruit  of  marriage.^  Prostitution  of  every  possible 
kind  had  found  its  way  into  the  heart  of  the  once 
pure  home  of  the  Romans.  Had  not  the  imperial 
dwelling  on  the  Palatine  been  a  model  which  all 
could  copy?-5  It  is  clear  that  the  moral  reforms  of 
Marcus  Aurelius  had  left  but  little  trace.  If  we 
are  to  believe  the  testimonies  of  Petronius,^  Juvenal^ 
and  Apuleius,*"  corroborated  by  the  indignant  out- 
cries of  all  the  Christian  apologists,  at  no  previous 
period  of  history  had  Roman  society  been  so  generally 
corrupt.  This  fact,  if  borne  in  mind,  will  help  us 
to  realize  the  influence  which  the  prevailing  depravity 
exercised  upon  every  heart,  and  to  appreciate  properly 

^  On  the  whole  period  cf.  Capes:  Roman  Empire  of 
Second  Century.  (New  York  1901). 

^  Apol.  6:  "  Repudium  vero  et  votum  est,  quasi  matri- 
monii  fructus."  ^    Lampridius:  c.  5. 

^    Satyricon.  cc.  30  sq.  ^    Juvenal:    VI.  76. 

^    Metamorposes:    passim. 


4  TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

the  efforts  made  by  individuals  to  rise   above  this 
wretched  condition. 

Roman  society  did  not  lack  religion.  Under 
Nero's  reign,  Petronius  could  write  w4th  a  touch 
of  humor  that  it  was  easier  to  find  gods  than  men.^ 
TertuUian  said  sarcastically  that  it  w^as  permitted 
to  worship  every  thing  but  the  true  God.^  Indeed 
the  number  of  temples  built  during  that  epoch 
bespeaks  a  great  religious  revival. ^  In  Africa,  the 
citizens  who  had  taken  as  their  motto:  "venari, 
ludere,  lavari,  ridere,  hoc  est  vivere,""*  were,  as  the 
ruins  of  their  cities  bear  witness,  the  very  ones  to 
bind  themselves  to  many  and  complicated  religious 
mysteries.  They  adored  not  only  the  divi,  Rome 
and  Caesar,  but  foreign  deities  also,  such  as  Heracles, 
Isis,  Serapis,  Mithra.  Even  the  Moorish  gods, 
Anthis,  Anliswa,  Baldir,  and  others  were  objects 
of  popular  worship. 5 

Yet  these  multifarious  manifestations  of  religious 
devotion  were  no  sure  indications  of  pure  and  moral 
lives.  The  repeated  sarcasms  of  the  poets, ^  satirists" 
and  philosophers^  had  obliterated  in  the  hearts  of 
the  people  their  respect  for  the  old  Gods  of  Rome. 
Their  temples  no  longer  stirred  the  national  feelings 
as  in  the  days  of  Cato.    There  remained  but  a  collec- 

^    Satyricon:  35.  ^    Apol.  XXIV. 

^  Monceaux:  Les  Africains  p.  29;  Histoire  de  I'Afrique 
chretienne. 

4    Inscription  quoted  by  Boissier:   Afrique  Romaine,  p.  193 

^  Monceaux:  Histoire  de  I'Afrique  chretienne,  p.  465; 
Leclercq:    Afrique  chretienne.    Vol.  I.,  p.   105. 

^    Horac.   Satyres,   I.   5-97. 

'    Juvenal:    VII;    Lucian  :    Dialogue  of  the  gods,  passim. 

^  TertuUian  remarked  that  Seneca  had  teen  even  more 
insulting  than  the  Christians:     Apol.  XII;     I.   Ad  Nat.    10. 


TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS  5 

tion  of  rites  without  inner  meaning.  The  people 
found  satisfaction  for  their  religious  aspirations  in 
the  arts  of  magic  and  astrology/  which  were  widely 
prevalent  at  that  time.  Even  Marcus  Aurelius  did 
not  escape  their  influence.'  Often,  too,  the  Eastern 
or  provincial  cults  were  without  any  moral  dictates 
whatever.  A  clean  heart  was  not  needed  to  win 
the  favor  of  the  gods.^  The  priests  were  notorious 
for  their  licentiousness. ^  The  temples  were  insecure. 
Human  sacrifices,  although  forbidden  by  the  'law, 
were  perpetrated  in  secret.^  Religion,  in  a  word, 
had  turned  into  a  fashionable  practice  not  incom- 
patible with  vice. 

As  might  be  expected,  the  literature  of  the  day  was 
the  expression  of  an  all-pervading  individualism.^ 
The  fact  that  it  professed  a  decided  return  to  the 
old  Roman  model  does  not  prove  its  seriousness. '^ 
In  the  archaic  writings,  the  rhetoricians  of  the  age 
sought  not  lessons  of  patriotism,  religion  and  moral- 
ity, but  rather  strange  forms  of  style.  Their  concep- 
tion of  the  relations  of  art  to  life  was  directly  opposed 
to  that  of  Livy  and  Vergil.  Literature  was  no  longer 
looked  upon  as  a  step  to  higher  things,  but  as  an 
end  in  itself.  The  most  noted  writers  of  the  time 
were  either  mere  teachers  of  rhetoric  like  Fronto  and 


^  Apuleius:  de  Magia.  Cf:  Bouche-Leclercq,  la  Divina- 
nation  dans  I'antiquite;     Baudrillard,   la  Religion   Romaine 

1905- 

^    Renan:    Marc  Aurele.  p.  49.  ^    Apol.  XXV. 

•^  Ibid.  XXIII.;  Apuleius,  Metamorphoses  XI,  8;  Herod 
I.    10. 

^    Apol.  IX;    Tatian,  XII;    Athenagoras,  XIII. 

^  Pichon:  Histoire  de  la  litterature  latine,  livre  III,  ch. 
I:     Causes  de  la  decadence. 

'     Monceaux:    les  Africains,  pp.  47-79. 


6  TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS 

Apollinaris,  or  grammarians  like  Aulus  Gellius. 
More  serious  thinkers,  such  as  Dion  Chrysostom  and 
Apuleius,  devoted  much  of  their  time  to  expatiating 
on  frivolous  topics, — the  dust,  the  parrot,  tooth 
powder  and  such  trifles.'  Add  to  this  the  craving  for 
corrupt  literature.  Only  such  a  society  could  have 
produced  the  Satyricon  and  the  Metamorphoses.^ 
The  popular  demand  for  amusement  was  answered 
by  the  Mimes  and  the  Atellanes,  to  the  immorality 
of  which  even  pagan  writers  have  borne  testimony.^ 
Indeed,  to  judge  by  these  signs  only,  Marcus  Aurelius' 
dreams  of  moral  progress  were  anything  but  realized. 
Wherever  we  turn,  we  behold  not  the  ideal  republic 
conceived  in  the  mind  of  the  philosopher,  but  a 
degenerating  organism,  weak  and  crumbling  in  its 
every  part. 

Appearances,  however,  are  likely  to  deceive  us; 
they  do  not  always  reflect  perfectly  the  complex 
life  of  a  nation.  Below  the  surface  there  flow  strong 
undercurrents  and  countercurrents  striving  for  mas- 
tery. A  close  observation  reveals  other  elements 
and  antagonizing  tendencies,  which  must  be  reckoned 
with  before  making  up  our  summary  of  a  general 
condition. 

In  the  first  place,  we  must  note  the  purifying 
influence  exercised  by  philosophy  on  the  Roman 
society  of  those  days.    During  the  reign  of  Aurelius, 

'  Taylor:  Classical  Inheritance  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
Phases  of  Pagan   Decadence. 

^    Boissier:    Opposition  sous  les  Cesars.  p.  268. 

^  Ovid:  Trist.  Ill,  501;  Juvenal.  VI.  66;  Marcus 
Aurelius,  IX.  Cf.  Teuffel:  History  of  Latin  Literature, 
Vol.  I,  p.  233.  (English,  transl.) 


■      TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS  7 

philosophers  had  thronged  to  the  imperial  court 
where  they  received  great  favors.'  Many  of  them 
were  raised  to  the  consulship  or  the  proconsulship.^ 
They  formed  a  part  of  the  Emperor's  council. 
Though  Commodus  held  in  small  esteem  these  wise 
advisers  of  his  father,  he  at  least  tolerated  them. 
They  had  won  new  disciples  and  were  acquiring 
influence  over  the  popular  mind  and  conscience.  It 
became  the  fashion  among  the  aristocracy  to  confide 
the  education  of  their  children  to  the  philosophers, 
as  formerly  they  had  done  to  the  rhetoricians.^ 

The  nature  and  form  of  their  instruction  soon 
won  for  these  teachers  wide  and  ever-growing 
popularity.  They  taught  no  longer  in  the  enclosed 
school  a  few  chosen  disciples  on  subjects  unsuited 
to  the  ordinary  mind.^  Their  ambition  was  to  be, 
in  a  manner,  popular  preachers  and  directors  of 
conscience. 5 

Before  Marcus  Aurelius  left  Rome  to  go  to  war 
for  the  second  time,  he  taught  three  lessons  of  philos- 
ophy to  the  people  assembled  to  hear  him.^  In 
Carthage,  the    cultured    classes    met   in    the    amphi- 

'     Herod,  I.  2;    Capitol:    Anton.  Pius  II.  3;    Dio  Cassius, 

71,   35- 

^  Herod,  Atticus,  Fronto,  Claudius  Severus,  Oroculus. 
Cf.  Tillemont:  Histoire  des  Empereurs  II,  p.  316,  sqq.; 
Boissier  in  his  "Religion  Romaine,"  vol.  II.  c.  3,  shows  how 
philosophy  was,  on  the  contrary,  ill  received  in  the  days  of 
the  Republic. 

^  So  for  Commodus.  Cf.  also  in  the  Satyricon  the  story 
of   Eumolpe. 

4  Dio  Chrysost.  Orat.  32;  Aul.  Gell,  V.  I;  Gallen:  Meth. 
medendi.   13,   15.  cf.  Boissier,  op.  cit.  ch.  6. 

5  Martha:    Moralistes  sous  I'Empire,  p.   i-ioi. 
^    Vulcatius  Cassio,  III.   7. 


8  TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

theatre  to  hear  Apuleius  discourse  on  philosophical 
topics/  We  learn  also  that  some  of  the  philosophers 
disguised  themselves  in  beggar's  clothes  in  order  to 
get  a  stronger  hold  on  the  lower  classes.^  Their 
counsels  and  maxims  found  an  echo  in  the  mind 
of  the  multitude.  They  passed  into  the  literature 
and  into  the  morals  of  the  nation.  Here  and  there, 
at  times,  protestations  were  raised  against  the 
frivolous  and  degraded  literature  of  the  day.^  Some 
of  Juvenal's  strongest  verses  breathe  the  spirit  of 
Stoicism.  In  the  midst  of  the  general  decadence, 
voices  were  heard  reminding  the  wealthy  of  their 
duties,  of  the  higher  ideal  of  life,  and  presenting  to 
the  "plebs  Romana"  pictures  of  the  ancient  "Urbs" 
with  its  polictial  activity  and  genuine  patriotism. ^ 
Through  the  influence  of  these  doctrines,  less  severe 
treatment  was  inflicted  upon  the  slaves.  It  is  quite 
a  surprise  to  find  in  Trimalchion's  mouth  such  words 
as  these:  "We  had  better  forgive  them.  Those 
slaves  are  men  as  we  are.  They  drink  of  the  same 
milk. "5  Such  facts  point  out  that  certain  philo- 
sophical principles  were  gaining  a  widespread  and 
deep-seated  influence  in  the  minds  of  every  class  of 
society  at  the  end  of  the  second  century. 

Nor  was  it  a  passing  fad  without  consequences 
for  the  future.  The  great  lawyers  of  the  day  had 
been   educated   by   Stoic   teachers.^      Though    filled 

^    Apuleius:     Florida   i,   9.  ^    ibid.  I.  7. 

3  Epictetus:  Dissert.  I.  21;  III.  9-23;  Aul.  Cell,  V.  I; 
Plutarch:     de  Auct.    13,   15. 

^    Renan:    op.  cit.  ch.  III.  p.  32-53. 

5    Satyricon.  28. 

^  Salvius  Valens,  Ulpius  Marcellus  Savolenus,  Voluscius 
Moecianus,  Coecilius  Africanus.  Cf:  Huscke:  lurispru- 
dentiae  anteiustinianae  fragmenta  quae  supersunt. 


TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS  9 

with  respect  for  what  was  just  in  the  old  code,  they, 
unconsciously  perhaps,  legislated  on  Stoic  principles. 
Their  ideal  was  no  longer  a  state  restricted  by 
nationality  and  identity  of  race,  but  a  larger  concep- 
tion of  universal  brotherhood.^  The  result  of  these 
tendencies  was  a  more  humane  code  of  laws.  The 
rights  of  fathers  were  limited;  abortion  was  looked 
upon  as  murder;^  the  abandonment  of  children 
became  a  legal  crime;  the  state  considered  the 
children  free.  At  the  suggestion  of  the  philosophers, 
measures  W'Cre  taken  by  Marcus  Aurelius  to  dis- 
courage the  profession  of  the  gladiators. ^  The  natural 
rights  of  the  slaves  were  recognized;-*  the  condition 
of  w^oman  was  somewhat  improved.  Nor  was  the 
religious  life  of  the  Romans  left  unaffected  by  the 
philosophical  movement.  Stoicism,  as  Ebert  remarks, 
had  taken  on  a  mystico-religious  character. ^  Unable 
to  breathe  life  into  the  state  worship,  it,  at  least, 
lifted  up  the  Roman  mind  to  higher  conceptions  of 
the  divinity.  Theology  had  hitherto  been  managed 
mainly  by  lawyers  and  grammarians.^  Philosophers 
in  their  turn  now^  began  to  deal  w4th  matters 
theological.  It  became  one  of  their  great  concerns 
to  reconcile  philosophical  monotheism  wdth  mytho- 
logical polytheism.  Eclectic  in  its  speculation, ^  it 
left  free  room  to  Platonic  theories  and,  as  a  conse- 

^  Seneca:  de  Otio.  dial.  8  c;  Havet:  Christianismne 
et  ses  origines  II.,  p.  15. 

^     Digest.  VII.  38-39- 

■5    Capitol:    Anton.  Phil.  23;    Dio  Cass.  71,  29. 

■*    Spartian.:    Adrian.   18;     Gaius  I,  53;     Digest  I.  VI,  2. 

5  Ebert:  pref.  of  Histoire  de  lahtterature  dii  Moyen — Age, 
vol.  I.  p.  15.  (French  transl.) 

^    Boissier:    op.  cit.    Vol.  II.  ch.  VII.    p.   113-119. 

7    Zeller:    Philosophic  der  Griechen,  III.,  p.  492. 


lo  TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

quence,  the  belief  that  the  supreme  authority 
belonged  to  one  God  began  to  gain  ground.  The 
divine  functions,  however,  were  distributed  among 
many.'  Hence,  there  was  a  facile  transition  to  the 
explanation  of  mythology.  "The  only  God  which 
filled  and  animated  the  universe  received  different 
nam.es  according  to  the  diverse  elements  which  He 
penetrates";^  or,  as  Apuleius  held,  "below  this 
superior  God  there  exists  a  hierarchy  of  inferior 
deities  who  act  as  servants  and  ministers  to  His 
will."  Owing  to  these  theological  speculations,  it 
became  the  prevailing  opinion  of  the  multitude  that 
the  number  of  gods  was  to  be  reduced  to  one.^ 

Moral  in  its  main  tendency,  it  was  natural  that 
Stoicism  should  also  inject  into  religion  its  ethical 
tenets  and  practices.  The  apologists  of  this  epoch 
acknowledge  the  attempts  to  find  a  deep  and  pure 
meaning  in  the  most  corrupt  fables.  Such  attempts 
are  evidences  of  the  fact  that  God  was  no  longer 
conceived  as  capable  of  human  and  sinful  passions. 
This  notion  drew  with  it  the  consequent  idea  that 
the  worshippers  must  be  good  in  order  to  gain 
access  to  the  divinity.  The  words  "bonus  intra, 
melior  exi,"4  were  even  written  on  the  threshold 
of  a  temple  in  Africa.  Apuleius  is  a  typical  example 
of  a  philosopher  who  is  at  the  same  time  a  devotee. ^ 

'  Apol.  XVII,  XXIV,  XXVI;  Apuleius.  Met.  XI.  2, 
sqq;    Diogen.  Laert.  VII.  i,  147;    Athenagoras,  VII. 

^    Apul.  de   Deo  Socr.  19.    Cf.  Boissier,  op.  cit.  vol.  II.  p. 

367- 

•5    The  same  effort  is  evidenced  in  Greece,  Cf.  Piat.  Socrate 

p.   8,   sqq. 

''    Renier:    Inscriptions  de  I'Algerie,  p.   165. 

5  Boissier:  op.  cit.  vol.  II.  p.  105  sq;  Afrique  Romaine 
p.  236. 


TERTULLIAN   AND   HIS  APOLOGETICvS  ii 

Such  a  combination  was  unknown  in  the  time  of 
Cicero.  The  great  orator  belonged,  it  is  true,  to  a 
college  of  priests,  and  regularly  fulfilled  the  duties 
of  his  office;  yet  he  and  his  friends  were  thoroughly 
indifferent.'  But  the  works  of  the  African  writer 
give  expression  in  sundry  places  to  mystical  aspira- 
tions. His  Metamorphoses  contain,  besides  frivolous 
stories,  some  very  fervent  and  earnest  prayers  to 
the  gods."*  He  prided  himself  upon  his  position  as 
priest  of  Echmoun.^  In  his  travels,  he  always  carried 
about  him  a  little  statue  of  the  god,  and  on  feast  days 
never  failed  to  offer  it  wine  and  incense. ^  He  gives 
us  curious  details  about  the  mysteries  into  which 
he  was  initiated.  From  him,  we  learn  that  regular 
sermons  were  preached  in  the  temples. ^  The  days 
of  the  Republic  never  witnessed  such  scenes.  The 
fragments  he  quotes  show  also  to  what  degree 
Stoicism  was  identified  with  religious  worship. 
Boissier  says  a  little  flippantly:  "On  croirait  vrai- 
ment  entendre  un  predicateur  chretien  dans  une 
prise  d'habit."^ 

Such,  in  outline,  was  the  influence  of  philosophy  in 
Tertullian's  time.  On  the  whole,  it  ran  counter  to 
the  general  direction,  to  the  current  individualism, 
and  in  opposition  to  universalism.^ 

In  the  complexity  of  facts,  however,  these  two 
contrary  tendencies  were  not  rarely  found  harmonized 

^  Boissier.  Ciceron  et  ses  Amis. 

2  Apul.  Florida.  IV.   i8. 

•5  ibid.  id.  III.   i6.  ^    Apul.  de  Magia.  63. 

5  ibid:     Metam.  XI.  25. 

^  Boissier:     op.  cit.  Vol.   I.  p.  357. 

^  Cf.  Ebert.  op.  cit.  p.   15. 


1 


12         TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

in  single  individuals.  Contemporary  literature  offers 
striking  examples  of  this  strange  mixture.  Philosophy 
was  then  defined  as  the  art  of  living  and  speaking 
well.'  But  too  often  the  philosophers,  while  aiming 
at  the  second,  forgot  the  first  element  of  their  art. 
Not  unfrequently  did  the  pallium  cloak  passions  and 
vices  hard  to  reconcile  with  the  teaching  of  wisdom.^ 
It  was  no  secret  that  some  who  could  make  eloquent 
exhortations  to  poverty  and  detachment  knew  also 
how  to  fashion  florid  appeals  to  the  imperial  treasury.^ 
One  class  of  men,  however,  claimed  to  live  strictly 
up  to  their  doctrine:  they  were  called  ckristiani 
or  chrestiani  by  those  who  did  not  know  them.^ 
They  were  to  be  found  everywhere,  at  the  court, 
in  the  Senate,  in  city  and  country,  even  in  the  army. 
Though  the  necessities  of  industry  and  circumstance 
brought  them  into  contact  with  general  society, 
there  was  something  exclusive  in  their  attitude. 
None  saw  them  in  the  temple  burning  incense 
before  the  gods.^  They  stood  aloof  from  the  noisy 
demonstrations  of  pubHc  joy.^  Their  conduct, 
naturally,  was  the  object  of  much  comm.ent  among 
their  neighbors."?  There  even  clung  to  their  name 
rumors  of  awful  crimes  perpetrated  in  the  occult 
celebrations  of  their  religious  mysteries.^  The  secrecy 
characteristic  of  their  cult  had  drawn  upon  them 
the  severity  of  the  lawmakers.  In  i8o,  twelve  of  the 
the  Christians  of  Scillium  had  been  beheaded  in 
Carthage    because    they    refused    to    return    to    the 

^    "  Disciplina  regalis   tam    ad   bene   dicendum    quam    ad 
bene  vivendum  reperta"   Apul.   Florida   i.    17. 

2    Apol.   I,   IvVI.  ^    lul.  Capitol.  V. 

4    Apol.   I.  ^    Apol.  XXIX. 

^    Apol.    XXXV.  7    I  Ad  Nat.  7.  ^    Apol.  VI. 


TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGRTICS  13 

religion  of  Rome/  Their  name  was  their  only  crime. 
However  exalted  might  be  their  social  standing, 
they  did  not  escape  the  rigors  of  the  law.  Apol- 
lonius,  the  Senator,  had  been  tried  by  his  peers  in 
Rome  and  sentenced  to  death. ^  The  common 
people  charged  them  with  abandoning  and  even 
despising  the  national  traditions.^  This  accusation 
was  grave  at  a  time  when  the  frontiers  of  the  Empire 
were  being  frequently  invaded,  especially  on  the 
African  side.  Nor  were  they  unmolested  by  the 
Sophists  and  the  philosophers  with  whom  the 
Christians  disclaimed  all  relations.^  Their  influence 
on  the  lower  classes  caused  them  to  be  considered 
as  rivals  by  those  who,  in  that  troublous  period,  sought 
to  control  and  direct  the  populace.  The  simplicity 
of  their  means  of  persuasion  was  in  complete  contrast 
to  the  pompous  verbosity  of  the  philosophers.  It  is 
with  little  surprise  that  we  hear  of  Crescens'  violent 
opposition  to  Justin, ^  or  of  Fronto's  giving  voice  to 
the  most  outrageous  calum.nies.^  Marcus  Aurelius 
himself  could  see  in  the  long-suffering  of  the  Christians 
nothing  but  affectation  and  obstinacy.'' 

In  spite  of  this  opposition  on  the  part  of  the 
authorities,  the  intellectual  class  and  the  people 
generally,  the  Christians  saw  their  numbers  grow 
continually.  Whole  regiments,  like  those  of  Scillium, 
joined  their  ranks,  thus  exposing  themselve's  to  the 


I 


Leclerq.  in  Diet.  d'Archeol.  s.  v.:    Actes  des  Martyrs. 

Eusebius:    Hist.  Eccles.  XXI.  2-5. 

H.  Leclerq:     op.  cit. 

Duchesne:    Hist.  Ancienne  de  I'Eglise.  p.  199. 

Justin:    II  Apol.  3;     Tatian.  V. 

Minucius  Felix:    Octavius,  9,  31. 

Medit.  XI.  3;    Apuleius,  Metam.  9,   14. 


14  TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

popular  hatred  which  extended  itself  amply  and 
liberally  to  all  those  connected  with  the  new  religion. 
Some  philosophers  even  left  their  schools  and  dis- 
putes in  order  to  be  taught  the  new  doctrine.  Some 
of  the  earnest-minded,  like  Justin  and  Tatian,  felt 
the  aimlessness  of  worthless  speculation.  The  Roman 
offered  no  other  dogma  than  that  of  the  divinity  of 
Rome  and  the  Emperor,  and  this  was  not  enough 
to  satisfy  the  religious  aspirations  of  sincere  men. 
Those  who  sought  for  some  truth  in  the  old  mytho- 
logical fables  were  not  rewarded  with  any  surety 
of  having  found  it;  and  they  found  but  momentary 
satisfaction  in  the  mysteries  of  the  East.  Mithra 
appealed  much  to  the  feeling,  but  little  to  reason. 
In  Christianity,  on  the  contrary,  there  were  to  be 
found  authority  and  a  definite  teaching.  The  truths 
of  which  they  had  a  presentiment  in  their  individual 
researches  were  offered  under  a  determined  form  and 
based  on  the  authority  of  a  divine  Master.  A 
literature  made  by  concerted  philosophers  facilitated 
the  first  steps  of  inquiry.  All  doubts  about  the 
origin  of  things,  the  destiny  of  man,  and  the  problem 
of  evil,  were  one  by  one  cleared  up.  The  danger  of 
persecution  had  little  power  to  break  their  per- 
severance. They  had  seen  the  Christian  martyrs 
going  joyfully  to  death  with  their  eyes  fixed  on  the 
heavenl;^  realities,  and  this  was  a  proof  of  the 
divinity  of  their  religion.^ 

But  few  were  the  philosophers  among  the  Christians 
compared  to  the  number  of  fairly  educated  converts. 
Those  who  had  an  opportunity  of  observing  closely 

^  Duchesne,  op.  cit.  p.  196  sq;  Harnack:  Die  Mission 
und  Ausbreitung  des  Christentums  in  den  Ersten  drei 
lahrhunderten.   (1902)  p.  72-209. 


TERTULUAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS  15 

the  relations  of  the  Christians  among  themselves 
felt  instinctively  drawn  towards  their  religion.  A 
strong  bond  of  charity  and  fraternity  united  them.' 
No  distinction  of  rank  or  of  race  was  observed. 
They  were  truly  "brothers"  as  they  called  themselves. 
The  poor  were  helped;  the  suffering  were  visited 
and  comforted.  As  Duchesne  has  well  remarked, 
each  of  them  glorified  in  being  a  member  of  the 
great  people  of  God,  of  the  universal  Church  and 
an  heir  to  the  kingdom  of  Heaven.  All  this  was  new 
and  it  strangely  attracted  many  souls  who  had 
not  felt  the  same  satisfaction  of  their  aspirations 
either  in  the  collegia  or  in  the  religious  associations 
then  so  numerous.^ 

To  sum  up,  three  main  currents  of  ideas  confronted 
the  mind  of  the  Roman  citizen  during  the  reign  of 
Commodus  (180):  Paganism,  Philosophy  and 
Christianity. 

^    Apol.  L. 

^    Boissier:    op.  cit.  \'ol.  2,  p.  238-304. 


i6  TKRTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 


CHAPTER  II. 

INFLUENCE   OF   HIS  LIFE  AND  GENERAL  IDEAS. 

Summary. — Sources  and  purpose  of  the  chapter. — I.  Biog- 
raphy of  Tertullian:  early  literary  impressions;  influence 
of  home  surroundings;  the  study  of  rhetoric,  philosophy 
and  law;  his  moral  failings  a  factor  in  his  development; 
the  weak  hold  of  religion  on  his  mind  and  conduct;  Philoso- 
ophy  becomes  the  guiding  principle  of  his  life;  early  writings 
under  that  influence;  his  first  approach  to  the  Christian 
truth;  elements  of  Christianity  which  appealed  to  him; 
steps  in  his  conversion. — II.  General  ideas:  hatred  of 
dilettantism;  opinions  on  Greek  ideals  and  morals;  sim- 
plicity a  criterion  of  truth;  views  on  social  and  civic  duties. 

Historical  documents  tell  us  little  of  the  life  and 
character  of  Tertullian:  a  few  words  in  S.  Jerome/ 
rare  and  accidental  remarks  in  Eusebius^  and  S. 
Augustine, 3  are  the  only  direct  references  that 
throw  light  on  the  question.  Yet,  with  the  help  of 
these  scanty  materials  and  the  information  gathered 
.from  Tertullian's  works  themselves,  the  critics  of 
the  XVI  Ith  century  contrived  to  establish  the 
order   of   facts'*,  and   modern   methods   have   cleared 

-4-^  ^  De  Vir.  ill.,  53;  Chron.  ad  ann.  2224;  Epist.  22.  22; 
Adv.  lov.  I.  13. 

'  Hist.  Eccl.  II.  2,  4;    III,  23. 

•5   De  haeres.  ad  quodvultdeum,  86. 

4  Tillemont,  Memoires  sur  I'histoire  eccles.  Ill,  p.  19^^: 
Allix.   in  Oehler,   III.   p.   37-79;     Kaye,  ibid.   p.   697-728. 


TKRTULIvIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS  17 

away  many  obscurities  and  placed  the  writer  against 
his  proper  historical  background.' 

The  purpose  of  the  present  chapter  is  neither  to 
discuss  nor  merely  to  repeat  the  conclusions  thus 
reached.  It  is  rather,  in  accordance  with  the  general 
plan  of  the  essay,  to  detect  under  the  outer  actions 
of  Tertullian's  life,  the  latent  principles  which  in- 
formed these  actions  with  unity  and  consistency. 
As  the  mind  closely  and  steadily  pores  over  the 
Avritten  words  of  the  author  and  connects  them  with 
what  is  known  of  his  life,  his  soul  is,  as  it  were, 
conjured  up  in  its  living  and  original  personality. 
Words  glow  as  accurate  portrayals  of  past  experiences. 
Their  meaning  is  fraught  with  the  reality  and  color  of 
human  life.  The  birth  and  growth  of  ideas  become  tan- 
gible and,  though  unknown  circumstances  and  unre- 
corded influences  dim  our  mental  vision,  still  a  sketch  of 
the  life  of  these  ideas  is  not  utterly  beyond  our  reach. 

The  son  of  a  proconsular  centurion,^  Tertullian 
probably  was  educated  at  Carthage.^  About  150,'' 
this  city  was  a  great  center  of  literary  activity, ^ 
a  second  Rome,  as  Salvianus  called  it.^  The  reigning 
literary    fads    naturally    imposed    upon    the    schools 

^  Noeldechen,  Tertullian;  Monceaux,  Histoire  de  la 
Litter.    Chret.    d'Afr.,    p.    177-193- 

^  Hieron.,  De  Vir.  ill.  53:  "  patre  centurione  proconsular!. " 
^  Hieron.    ibid:     "provinciae    Africae,   civitatis   Carthage- 


niensis". 


•*  According  to  Teuffel  and  Noeldechen,  he  was  born 
about  1.50;  Tillemont,  Ebert,  Monceaux,  and  Krueger 
rather  favor   160. 

^  Apuleius,   Florida,   I.    7. 

^   De     Gubernatione     Dei,    VII.    67.      "In  Africano  orbe 
quasi    Romam." 


i8  TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

their  favorite  methods  and  authors.  As  a  consequence, 
much  of  the  teaching  was  tinged  with  the  frivoHty, 
artificiaUty  and  formahsm  of  contemporary  writings. 
On  the  Carthaginian  school  benches,  therefore, 
TertulHan  learned  to  read  and  admire  the  archaic, 
the  quaint  and  the  affected  in  Latin  literature.  He 
studied  Cato  and  Varro  more  than  Cicero,  Ennius 
and  Lucretius  more  than  Vergil,  Sallust  more  than 
Livy  and  Caesar.'  It  was  a  ^ime  when  Fronto  re- 
proached Cicero  with  using  but  very  few  rare  and 
odd  words. ^ 

Naturally,  he  did  not  escape  the  influence  of  these 
first  literary  impressions.  His  later  works  exhibit  a 
leaning  towards  quaint  phraseology  and,  he  too,  like 
Fronto,  must  have  kept  many  a  vigil,  striving  after 
a  mastery  of  the  elocutio  novella  so  much  in  honor 
in  his  days.  Even  his  most  intimate  thoughts  will 
be  worded  in  the  style  of  the  time.^ 

There  is  little  doubt  that  his  mind  early  assimilated 
whatever  was  of  educative  value  in  the  ancient 
literatures.  Both  Greek  and  Latin  authors  became 
well  known  to  him  and  took  strong  hold  of  his 
imagination  and  memory.^  Tf  later,  as  a  Christian, 
he  expelled  Homer  from  the  State,  it  was  not  without 
calling  him  the  "prince  of  poets"  and,  like  Plato, 
he  did  so  only  after  having  wreathed  his  brow  with 
flowers. 5  Some  of  Plutarch's,  Livy's  and  Vergil's 
heroes  and  heroines  always  remained  for  him  types 
of  the  highest  virtues  which  he  loved  to  proffer  as 


'  Monceaux,  les  Africains,  p.  80. 

^  Teuffel,  op.  cit.,  II,  p.  216. 

^  Monceaux,  Histoire  litterair«,  p.  438-461. 

'♦  I.  ad  Nation.  10;    De  Corona,  7-8;    Adv.  Prax.,  3, 

5  II.  Ad   Nat.   9. 


TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOI.OGRTICS  19 

examples  to  his  correligionists.'  Every  day,  while 
the  youth  was  lounging  about  the  harbor,  listening 
to  the  free  talk  of  the  mariners,'  his  eyes  could  behold 
the  hillock  where  Dido  had  burnt  herself.  She  was 
a  Carthaginian  and,  as  such,  won  his  fervent  admira- 
tion.^ Later  on  was  he  not  to  cite  her  to  the 
Christians  as  a  monogamist?  Eneas,  on  the  contrary, 
he  candidly  despised  as  an  inglorious  soldier  and  a 
traitor  to  his  country.^  But  the  fortitude  of 
Hasdrubal's  wife,^  of  Lucretia,  of  Cleopatra,  of 
Penelope,  of  Mucins,  of  Horatius  Codes  and  Regulus 
and  of  the  vSpartans  was  never  forgotten.^  He  thus 
reveals  to  us  that  his  youthful  sympathies  went  to 
the  strong-willed  and  brave-hearted  men  and  women 
of  old.  Literature  was  educating  him  in  the  direction 
of  his  natural  tendencies. 

His  home  surroundings  were  such  as  to  develop 
and  strengthen  these  dispositions  in  him.  The 
soldiers  of  his  father  were  his  first  living  models  in 
life.  He  watched  their  drilling  and  noted  their 
endurance  both  in  time  of  war  and  of  peace. ^  After- 
wards boyhood  memories  were  to  come  back  to  his 
mind  by  way  of  association  with  the  virtues  of  the 
Christian  soldier.^  Life,  to  him,  was  always  more  or 
less  of  a  warfare  against  visible  and  invisible  enemies. 
He  w^as  always  a  soldier  in  temperament.  His 
metaphors    are   taken   from   war.     His    opponent    is 

^  Ad  Martyr.,  4;  I.  Ad  Nat.  18;  II.  9;  de  exhort,  castit.,  13. 

^  Ado.     Valentin.,     12;      "Videmus    quotidie    nauticorum 
lascivias  gaudiorum."  ^   De   monogamia,    16. 

4  II.   Nat.  8.  =   I.    Nat.    18;     II.    19. 

^  Ad.  Mart.  4;    I.  Nat.  18;    Apol.  50. 

7   Cfr.  a  description  of  manoeuvers  in  Ad  Mart.  3. 
*  Apol.  49:    "Verum  eo  more  quo  et  bellum." 


20         TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

always  an  enemy  against  whom  he  must  spare  neither 
dart  nor  sword. 

It  may  be  admitted,  therefore,  that  from  the  schools 
of  the  primus  magister  and  the  grammaticus,  he 
brought  something  more  than  tablets  decked  with 
centos  and  a  certain  skill  in  disserting  upon  frivolous 
subjects.  He  also  acquired  deep-rooted  ideals  that 
were  never  to  forsake  him  and  were  important 
factors  in  the  development  of  his  personality. 

His  curious  mind,  however,  was  not  content  with 
the  general  and  superficial  culture  of  what  we  now- 
adays call  "college  studies."  To  the  ambitious 
youth,  Carthage  opened  a  broad  field  of  educational 
opportunities.  It  was  preeminently  a  city  of  scholars, 
a  home  of  literateurs.'  Several  of  its  renowned 
masters  had  risen  from  humble  professorial  chairs 
to  take  up  high  official  positions  in  the  state.''  Fronto 
of  Cirta,  whose  ingenious  phrasing  was  the  latest 
literary  craze,  was  then  preceptor  of  the  Emperor. 
There  were  some  in  Carthage  who  had  heard 
Apollonius  and  Aulus-Gellius  pursuing  in  public 
their  erudite,  discussions.  A  chair  of  rhetoric  was 
an  enviable  government  position,  which  led  not  in- 
frequently to  the  proconsulship  and,  in  one  instance 
at  least,  had  lifted  its  occupant  to  the  imperial 
throne. 3  At  the  feet  of  such  authoritative  masters, 
TertuUian  imbibed  the  many-sided  erudition  in 
poetics,  geometry,  dialectics,  physiology  and  astrol- 
ogy,  which  is   so  conspicuous  in  his  writings.'* 


^  luvenal  called  Carthage  a  "nutricula  causidicorum"  Sat. 
VIII.  148. 

^  Monceaux,  Les  africains,  pp.  211  sq. 

3  Monceaux,  Les  africains,  p.  245. 

''  Adv.    Prax.,   3;     i.   Nat.    10;     de   Corona,   7-8. 


TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS  21 

Literature  held  a  special  place  in  his  esteem: 
*'Instrumentum  ad  omnem  vitam  literatura:  quo- 
modo  repudiamus  saecularia  studia  sine  quibus 
divina  non  possunt."  In  all  these  studies,  the  young 
Tertullian  was  ardent,  fond  of  details  and  especially 
fond  of  discussion. 

But  the  study  which  seems  to  have  told  more 
deeply  still  on  his  mind  and  the  general  direction 
of  his  life  was  the  study  of  Philosophy.  Philosophy 
was  taught  at  that  time  by  one  who  possessed  both 
a  style  in  harmony  with  the  literary  canons  of  the 
time,  and  much  skill  and  practice  in  metaphysical 
speculation.^  The  crowds  that  thronged  the  Odeon 
and  the  amphitheatre  to  listen  to  his  lectures  de- 
livered in  Greek  or  Latin  were  drawn  quite  as  much 
by  the  desire  to  hear  finely  rounded  sentences  as 
to  imbibe  wisdom.^  Many  reasons  lead  us  to  believe 
that  Tertullian  was  an  enthusiastic  auditor  of  the 
philosopher  of  Madaura.  A  comparison  of  their 
respective  styles  has  revealed  numerous  and  sig- 
nificant analogies.^  Moreover,  the  strong  personality 
of  Apuleius,  his  deep  mysticism,  his  brilliant  expo- 
sition of  the  Platonic  doctrine,  his  theory  of  the 
demons  could  not  fail  to  attract  TertuUian's  atten- 
tion and  sympathy. 

From  other  literary  and  philosophic  stars  of  lesser 
brilliancy,  then  so  numerous  in  Carthage,  our  author 
learned  the  various  systems  of  Greek  philosophy. "* 
The  impression  left  upon  him,  however,  by  these 
teachers  was  far  from  being  favorable.    Like  Tatian, 

^   Apuleius,  Florida.  III.   16. 
^  A  description  of  the  crowd  in  Florida,  i,  7. 
^  Van  der  Vliet:    Studia  ecclesiastica.   1891. 
'♦  He  exposes  most  often  in  his  writings. 


22  TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

the  Syrian/  he  appears  to  have  grown  wearied  of 
their  subtlety  and  their  love  of  argumentation.^ 
He  also  noticed  that  their  conduct  was  onlv  too 
often  in  opposition  to  their  teaching, ^  and  that  in 
going  from  one  teacher  to  another,  he  met  with 
nothing  but  inconsistencies.  Greek  speculation  soon 
became  loathsome  to  him."* 

His  craving  for  knowledge  found  more  satisfaclion 

,  in  the  study  of  law.s  Whether  or  no+  he  is  the  same 
jurisconsult  whose  fragments  are  quoted  in  the 
Digest,^  it  is  beyond  doubt  that  he  possessed  a 
marked  competency  in  legal  matters.  As  has  been 
seen,  a  new  spirit  was  breathing  through  Roman 
legislation.  It  was  the  age  of  Gains,  who  interpreted 
Roman  law  by  illustrations  from  foreign  laws;  of 
Aemilius  Papinianus,  whose  keen  sense  of  right  and 
morality  was  renewing  juridical  knowledge  and 
methods.  No  doubt,  a  close  stud}^  of  the  juris- 
consults of  the  time,  besides  broadening  his  ideas, 
had  a  strong  influence  on  his  style.  From  them,  he 
also  got  an  insight  into  the  old  Roman  spirit,  the 
ideal  of  his  childhood  days,  and,  at  the  sam.e  time, 
a  deeper  comprehension  of  those  principles  which 
were  making  their  way  into  the  very  foundation 
of  the  code,  and  which  implied  a  conception  of  life 

.  widely   different   from   the   one   then   in   vogue. 

Study,  however,  did  not  absorb  all  of  Tertullian's 
energy.  He  failed  to  resist  the  many  temptations 
that     beset     the      Carthaginian     students     of     his 


^   Oratio  ad  Graecos  I  sq.  ^  Apol.  46. 

^   I.  Nat.  4.  4  II.  Nat.  6. 

5  Eusebius.   H.   E.,   11.  4. 

^  Digest.  XXIX,  2,  30,  6.     Labriolle,  in  Nouv.  Rev.  hist, 
de  droit  fr.   1906.  p.  5. 


TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS  23 

day.  Bad  companionship,  in  which  the  African 
metropolis  abounded,  stimulated  his  impetuous  nature 
and  partly  explains  that  great  crisis  of  his  life.'  One 
can  not  lay  undue  stress  on  this  period  of  his  life, 
as  many  subsequent  tendencies  to  the  contrary 
find  their  source  in  the  same  period.  Like  his  country- 
man Augustine,  he  found  delight  in  the  pleasures 
of  the  amphitheatre  which  he  describes  so  vividly 
in  his  works.-  There  he  beheld  scenes,  the  memory 
of  which  ever  haimted  him  in  after  life.^  He  gained 
an  experience  of  the  pagan  w^orld  w^hich  had  no  little 
influence  on  the  later  development  of  his  thought, 
and  on  his  judgments  of  contemporary  literature. 
Their  immorality  he  loathed  and  regarded  as 
"honeyed  things  in  the  cup  of  death."  Thus,  ex- 
periences of  his  w^eakness,  of  the  weakness  of  others, 
and  of  the  seduction  of  the  life  around  him,  tinged 
his  views  of  life  with  a  certain  moral  rigorism.  He 
had  but  to  dip  his  pen  into  past  memories  to  draw 
pictures  of  a  Juvenal-like  realism.  There  he  had 
learned  the  obstacles  to  the  virtues  which  he  later 
practiced  and  preached,  and  became  anxious  that  others 
should  discern  these  obstacles  in  order  to  avoid  them. 
Religious  principles  had  no  very  potent  influence 
over  the  heart  of  the  pagan  youth.  It  is  not  exactly 
known  at  what  altar  Tertullian  w^orshipped.  The 
military  position  of  his  father  naturally  bound  him 
to  the  official  cult  of  the  Empire,  in  which  he  found 
but  a  collection  of  lifeless  rites  devoid  of  moral 
value. -^    Perhaps  he  sought  in  the  Eastern  mysteries, 

^   De  Resur.  Carn.  60;    Poenit,4;   Augustinus,  Confessiones. 
1.  Ill,  2.  2  Apol.   15;    I  Nat.    10.  5  ibid.  id. 

■*  About  religion  in  the  camps,  cf .  Boissier,  Opposition  sous 
les  cesars,  p.  10. 


24  TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

so  numerous  then  in  Carthage'  and  with  which  he 
was  well  acquainted,^  the  satisfaction  of  his  mystical 
cravings.  No  doubt,  too,  that  Ceres  of  Africa  had,  for 
a  while,  some  attraction  for  him,  on  account  of  the 
chastity  of  her  priests,  which  he  admired  greatly. 
In  all  these,  however,  he  found  no  authoritative 
rule  that  could  bind  down  a  wayward  will  to  a  strict 
rule  of  life. 

As  far  as  we  can  discern,  the  unifying  principle 
of  his  life  came  from  philosophy.  For  him,  philosophy 
was  not  so  much  a  .body  of  doctrine  as  a  code  of 
laws.  Like  many  of  his  contemporaries,  he  favored 
a  broad  eclecticism  in  theories.  But  it  is  likely  that 
he  adhered  to  the  Stoic  tenets  in  morals.  The  sweet 
unction  of  Seneca's  writing,  w^hom  he  will  later 
call  "saepe  penes  noster,"^  and  perhaps  the  personal 
influence  of  one  of  those  popular  preachers  who 
united  within  himself  purity  of  life  with  a  highly 
moral  teaching,  and  especially  the  inner  attractive- 
ness of  a  doctrine  that  had  made  Marcus  Aurelius 
and  Epictetus,  wrought  a  deep  and  lasting  change 
in  his  ideals  of  life.  For  a  time  the  soul  of  the  young 
man,  disabused  and  humbled  by  his  first  experience 
of  vice,  found  temporary  repose  in  Stoicism.  His 
conduct  was  regulated  after  a  plan  that  embraced 
his  previous  tendency  towards  the  stern  and  the 
heroic.  He,  like  many  of  his  contemporaries,  prob- 
ably took  some  and  rejected  others,  of  the  meta- 
ph^'sical  tenets  of  the  Porch,  but  its  direction  of  life, 
at  least,  he  fully  accepted.     Thai,  while  yet  in  his 

'   Monceaux  les  africains,   p.    133;    Eranz  Cumont,    Docu- 
ments etc.,  Vol  I.,   p.  338.  ^  Apol.   16. 

3   Martha,    les    Moralistes    sous   TEmpire    Romain,    ch    I : 
Seneqiic,  directeur  de  conscience. 


TERTULLIAN  AND  HLS  APOLOGETICvS  25 

minority,   he  busied  himself  in  writing  treatises  on 
matrimony  and  virginity,  is  a  fact  full  of  significance.' 
They   were   addressed   to    some    philosopher    friend 
of    his.     Seneca    himself    had    written    a    book,   " de 
Matrhnonio" ,    which    contained    invectives    against 
women. ^     The    theme    was    a    commonplace    one    in 
Stoic  circles.    Jt  is  not  strange  then  that  Tertullian 
with    the    enthusiasm    of    a    neophyte    should    burn 
what  he  had  worshipped  and  feel  the  desire  to  win 
others  to  his  philosophy  of  life.    We  may  even  believe 
that  there   was   more  than   rhetorical   effort   in   the 
work  of  his  younger  days,  and  the  fact  that  S.  Jerome 
recommended   it   to   the   virgin    Kustochium   speaks 
much  in  favor  of  the  value  and  purity  of  its  contents. 
In    180,   at  the  very  time  when  TertuUian's  mind 
and  soul  were  filled  with  these  thoughts  of   moral 
reform,   the  trial   and   execution   of  twelve   martyrs 
brought  from  Scillium  to  Carthage  were  the  subject 
of  much   comment  in  the  town   circles.     Their  un- 
daunted  courage   in   the   face    of   death,    their   firm 
answers  to  Vigellius  Saturninus,   the  brutal  consul, 
had    impressed    the    popular    imagination.     Though 
stories  were  circulated  of  awful  crimes  charged  against 
them,  nothing  cer't'ain  could  be  proved. -^    The  very 
character    of    the    accusations    made    conviction    all 
but  impossible.    Tertullian,  with  most  of  the  cultured 
people    including   Trypho    and    Celsus,    belonged   to 
the  moderate  class  who  refused  to  credit  the  charges.^ 
A  first  examination  had  made  him  wonder  at  what 
appeared  to  him  the  absurdity  of  their  creed, ^  but 
further  intercourse  with  Christians,  then  very  numer- 

^  Hieron.     Epist.   22;     adv.   lovin.    i.    13. 

^  See  fragments  in  the  Haase  Edition. 

^   I    Nat.  4;    Apol.  6.  4   I    Nat.   4.  ^  Apol.    18. 


26  TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS 

ous  in  Carthage,  had  convinced  him  of  at  least  the 
genuineness  of  their  virtues.'  In  many  respects 
their  lives  were  the  very  embodiment  of  the 
principles  which  he  himself  had  adopted.  Love 
for  one  another,  strict  chastity,  patience,  resignation 
in  trials,^ — these  were  all  Stoic  ideals.  In  their  very 
death  there  was  a  silent  appeal.^ 

These  experiences  together  with  divine  grace  wrought 
a  gradual  change  in  the  sceptical  attitude  of  Ter- 
tullian.  To  the  man  who  in  the  wearisome  search  of  a 
law  of  life  had  wandered  through  the  mazes  of  different 
systems,  a  teaching  productive  of  such  results  pos- 
sessed a  peculiar  charm  and  persuasiveness.  More 
than  this,  he  was  brought  face  to  face  with  a  fact 
which  struck  his  mind  forcibly.  As  a  philosopher, 
he  had  always  believed  that  demons  exercised  a 
deep  mystical  influence  on  human  life.^  Such  a  belief 
was  prevalent  among  the  pagans,  and  it  can  be 
traced  throughout  his  works  as  connected  with  con- 
temporary opinions.  He  had  several  times  wit- 
nessed the  power  of  the  Christians  over  these  occult 
forces.5  Little  by  little,  he  came  to  associate  their 
religion  with  a  higher  world. ^  The  mystery  of  the 
evil  spirits  was  solved  by  the  Christian  teaching. 

No  written  document  records  all  the  steps  of  his 
conversion.  We  may  conjecture  from  his  works, 
however,  that  the  sight  of  the  gross  immorality 
reigning  around  him  made  him  yearn  for  a  school 
of  reformatory  power.  As  he  listened  at  Athens  to 
the  voice  of  Attic  sophistry,'  his  mind,  imbued  with 
the  spirit  of  the  Porch  and  perhaps  already  inclined 

'   I   Nat.  5.  ^  I  Nat.   19.  ^  Apol.   50. 

•^  Apuleius:  de  Deo  socr.  14.        ^  Apol.  22.       ^  ibid.,  id. 
'   Apol.    I.   6;     II.    Nat.   5.   6. 


TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS  27 

by  certain  Christian  sympathies,  detected  corrup- 
tion beneath  the  brilHance,  and  poverty  of  thought 
beneath  the  wealth  of  words.'  The  magnificence 
and  the  kixuries  of  Rome  conveyed  to  his  mind  the 
impression  of  an  over-poHshed  society  and  of  a 
self-sufficient  wisdom.-  In  such  an  hour,  the  seed 
of  the  new  doctrine,  cast  into  his  soul  by  some 
obscure  presbyter,  found  congenial  soil,  sprang  up 
and  grew,   soon  to  bloom  and  bear  fruit. 

Such  appears,  to  this  point,  the  evolution  of  Ter- 
tullian's  life  and  thought.  He  had  emerged  from 
the  pagan  world,  a  product  of  centuries  of  glory 
now  in  overripe  corruption ;  having  inherited  both 
the  strength  and  the  vveakness  of  his  ancestors,  his 
inborn  vigor  had  assimilated  certain  elements  of  the 
Romana  Virtus,  while  the  germs  of  the  prevalent 
contagion  were  injected  from  without  into  his  moral 
organism.  The  philosophical  tenets  grafted  on  his 
mind  at  the  time  gave  new  life  to  his  scattered  and 
wasted  energies,  until,  finally,  fresh  and  renovating 
influences  constrained  that  original  sturdiness  under 
a  solid  discipline,  at  the  same  time  allowing  free  room 
for  further  growth. 

It  is  but  natural  that  characteristic  tendencies 
and  general  ideas  should  have  been  formed  in  the 
process  of  his  life.  An  inquiry  into  their  nature 
w^ill  enable  us  to  understand  better  the  texture  of 
his  apologetic  thought. 

The  old  Roman  conception  of  life  found  its  ex- 
pression in  the  well-known  saying  "  vivere  primum, 
deinde  philosophari,"  which  Cato  had  illustrated 
by   beginning   his   philosophical  studies   only  at   the 

^  ibid.   id.  ^  I,   de  cultu  feminarum   7. 


28  TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

close  of  a  brilliant  career  in  politics  and  statesman- 
ship. In  Tertullian's  time,  this  maxim  was  in 
every  mouth,  and  never  before  had  Cato's  virtues 
been  so  much  held  up  for  admiration  and  imitation. 
Yet,  at  the  same  time,  speculation,  salaried  by  the 
state,'  free-thinking  and  free-speaking,-  close  to  the 
imperial  throne, ^  seemed  to  deride  the  Rome  of  old. 
The  view  of  life  which  had  created  this  state  of 
affairs  was  in  open  conflict  with  Tertullian's  prin- 
ciples. He  had  no  patience  with  those  who,  "from 
a  drop  of  truth  distilled  a  flood  of  arguments."'' 
What  had  he  to  do  with  their  vain  theories  P^  At 
the  root  of  it  all  were  pride  and  a  wicked  life.^ 
Philosophers  were  the  very  opposite  of  the  Christians. 
They  talked,  the  Christians  acted. ^  Yet  they  w4th 
impunity  assumed  the  name  of  wise  men,  and 
their  teachings  were  dictated  as  wisdom.^  In  them 
everything  was  tolerated;^  they  could  freely 
criticize  and  decry  all  the  institutions  of  the  country, 
and  even  bark  at  princes.  Withal,  they  were  loaded 
with  honors.  Statues  were  even  raised  to  their 
memory.'"  Every  tim.e  Tertullian  mentions  their 
names,  he  can  not  refrain  from  bitter  words.  Much 
light  is  thrown  on  his  theory  of  life  by  this  deter- 
mined attitude  towards  those  who  were  powerful 
at  the  time.  Nothing  is  more  loathsome  to  him  than 
dillettantism,  or  aimless  wandering  of  thought 
without  the  sincere  desire  ultimately  to  reach  the 
truth..  That  explains  the  impatience  he  m.anifests 
in  speaking  of  the  Greeks.     The  very  word  rouses 

'  lul.  Capt.,  Ant.  Pius,  ii.  ^  I  Nat.  4. 

3  Jul.    Capt.   ibid.   id.  -•  II  Nat.  4.  5  u  Nat.  5. 

^  Apol.  46.                        7  ibicl^  id.  ^  I  Nat.  4. 

9  Apol.  46.  '°  Apol.  45. 


TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS  29 

his  temper.  The  philosopher  is  a  disciple  of  Greece, 
as  the  Christian  is  the  disciple  of  heaven.'  The 
abominable  crime  of  the  Proconsul's  son  was  accom- 
plished by  a  "graeculus,"  and  the  deed  was  done 
"graeculo  more."^  Greece,  for  him,  is  synonymous 
with  corruption  and  futility. 

From  his  repugnances,  it  is  easy  to  judge  his 
likings.  In  intellectual  matters,  simplicity  is  a 
criterion,  or,  at  least,  a  sign  of  the  truth. ^  Speculation 
is  nothing  else  but  the  creation  of  vain  minds 
that  find  no  better  employment,  while  simplicity 
is  the  mark  of  earnest  and  useful  people.  Therefore, 
in  his  opinion,  the  workingman  knows  more  about 
truth  than  do  the  greatest  philosophers.^  In  order 
to  possess  truth  and  wisdom  it  is  not  necessary  to 
have  passed  through  the  schools  :5  indeed  the  market 
place  and  the  shop  are  schools  of  more  certain 
learning.  Tertullian  prefers  to  err  with  the  people 
than   be    wise    with  the  learned.^ 

His  judgments  on  society  give  evidence  of  like 
dispositions.  He  remarks  how  everything  is  affected 
in  public  life.^  Affectation  i§  the  very  opposite  of 
simplicity.  The  past  with  its  severe  morality  and 
its  wise  laws  has  been  abandoned  by  all  for  an 
easier  life  and  a  licentiousness  born  of  luxury.  He 
is  jealous  of  his  reputation  as  a  loyal  citizen,  and 
on  this  subject  he  delights  in  unmasking  the  duplicity 
of  the  Romans.^  They  wish  long  life  to  the  princes, 
and,  at  the  very  moment  that  their  lips  open  to 
utter  the  exclamation,  their  hearts  desire  to  see  the 
Emperor  dead.     For  him,  his  country  and  his  ruler 

'  Apol.  46.  2  J  j^^j.    j^.    J  J  ^^^   g 

^  Apol.   46.  -•  II  Nat.  4,  5.  5  cie  test,   an   I. 

^  Apol.   7.       7  Apol.  35  sqq.        ^   I  Nat.    18;     Apol.  35. 


30  TERTULUAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

are  the  greatest  thing  and  person  of  earth.  Family- 
interests  must  be  subordinated  to  the  fatherland.^ 
So  Aeneas  is  a  traitor  for  leaving  Troy  in  flames 
in  order  to  save  his  father,  wife  and  children.  How 
much  more  beautiful  a  pattern  of  patriotism  is 
the  wife  of  Hasdrubal  who  sacrificed  her  children 
and  herself  rather  than  leave  her  country.^  He  has 
great  hopes  in  the  destiny  of  Rome;  the  end  of  the 
world  is  delayed  only  until  her  fall.^  She  can  not  be 
shaken  but  the  whole  world  will  feel  the  shock. 
He  respects  the  Emperor  as  the  elect  of  God,  and 
hence  his  person  is  sacred. ^  It  is  the  duty  of  all  to 
love  him  sincerely,  to  pray  for  a  long  life  for  him, 
for  he  is  the  father  of  the  country. 

These  feelings  towards  the  Roman  state  and  its 
rule  coexist  with  a  wilful  and  conscious  aloofness 
from  all  public  offices.  Though  the  Christians  are 
in  the  Senate  and  the  army,  they  take  no  trouble 
to  win  distinction.  It  is  not  that  they  refuse  their 
services  to  their  country,  but  they  do  not  wish 
to  form  in  politics  a  Christian  republic.  They 
recognize    one    Republi9, — the    world. ^ 

A  firm  belief  in  the  seriousness  of  life,  a  strong 
dislike  for  all  that  is  mere  speculation  and  needless 
wrangling  of  words,  a  deep-seated  respect  for  legit- 
imately constituted  authority,  a  singular  love  of 
simplicity  and  sincerit}^ — such  are  TertuUian's  general 
ideas  of  life,  ideas,  the  influence  of  which  will  be 
felt  in  the  trend  of  his  thought  and  in  the  development 
of  his  Apologetics. 

'   II  Nat.  6.       '   II    Nat.   6.       3   Apol.  31.      ■»  Apol.  35- 
5  "Unam   omnium  rempublicam    agnoscimus,    mundum," 
ibid.   id. 


TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICvS  31 


CHAPTER   III. 

HIS    LEADING    IDEA. 

Summary. — The  new  convert  ready  for  action;  groundwork 
of  his  apologetics  lies  in  his  views  on  truth  and  error. — I. Two 
mainsprings  of  truth:  reason,  or  the  soul  naturally  Christian; 
faith,  or  the  soul  supernaturally  Christian. — II.  Error,  the 
enemy  of  truth:  reason  perverted  by  the  body,  depraved 
by  surroundings,  dragged  down  by  passions;  faith  enjoys 
but  a  limited  field  of  vision,  blinded  by  prejudices  from 
education;  relations  of  philosophy  to  heresy. — Distinctive 
marks  of  truth  and  error. 

That  the  recent  convert  of  Carthage  had  fully- 
grasped  the  substance  and  spirit  of  his  new  religion 
is  made  clear  by  the  first  written  utterance  of  his 
Christian  mind,  that  vigorous,  yet  tender  address 
to  his  persecuted  brethren.  Beneath  his  fervid 
exhortation  to  patience  and  inward  peace,  the 
African  martyrs  could  detect  a  deep  understanding 
of  the  Christian  tradition,  and  especially  a  thorough 
assimilation  of  the  spirit  of  the  great  Apostle  Paul, 
whom  Tertullian  quotes  so  often  in  his  short  treatise.^ 

Naturally,  the  combative  and  ardent  nature  of 
Tertullian  would  soon  demand  a  wider  field  of 
action  for  the  exercise  of  his  natural  and  acquired 
talents  and  would  ambition  to  serve  broader  interests, 
especially    at    a    time    when    there    was   need   of   an 

^   De   Test.    an.    passim. 


32  TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

authoritative  spokesman  for  the  Christians  of  that 
Church  of  Carthage,  so  young,  but  already  so  severely 
tried. 

Before  following  the  successive  steps  of  the  new 
defender  of  the  Christian  religion,  it  is  well  to  search 
for  the  master-idea  that  lies  at  the  basis  of  his  develop- 
ment as  an  Apologist,  and  for  the  underlying  principle 
that  explains  his  methods,  the  progress  of  his  thoughts, 
and  even  the  particular  mode  of  expression  he  devised 
for  them. 

Since  the  cause  Tertullian  championed  was  that 
of  truth,  and  his  enemy,  error,  clothed  in  its  varioas 
garb,  it  is  natural  that  the  groundwork  of  his  Apolo- 
getics should  lie  in  his  general  ideas  of  trath  and 
error.  How  did  he  view  the  course  of  truth  and  error 
in  the  human  mind?  What  was  for  him  the  criterion 
of  certainty,  and  what  attributes  did  he  conceive  of 
as  essential  to  any  proposition  presented  to  his  mind 
for  assent? 

He  distinguished  two  sources  of  truth:  the 
testimony  of  the  soul  by  nature  Christian,  and  the 
divine  revelation  to  man.  These  two  sources  are 
nothing  else  than  reason  and  faith.  The  rational  soul, 
created  to  the  image  and  likeness  of  God,  is  ill  t- 
mined  by  the  Word  "that  enlighteneth  every  man 
that  Cometh  into  the  world,"  and  the  faithful  soul 
gives  its  full  assent  to  the  revelation  bestowed  by 
God  and  guaranteed  by  the  most  authentic  titles. 
"Would  you,"  he  says,  "have  the  proof  of  the 
existence  of  God  by  the  testimony  of  the  soul  itself? 
That  soul  though  imprisoned  in  the  body,  perverted 
by  education,  weakened  by  passions  and  lust,  though 
a  slave  to  the  false  Gods,  whenever  it  comes  to  itself. 


TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS  33 

as  out  of  a  surfeit,  or  a  sleep,  or  a  sickness,  and 
attains  something  of  its  natural  soundness,  speaks 
of  God,  using  no  other  words  because  this  is  the 
peculiar  name  of  the  true  God.  'God  is  great  and  good , ' 
'Which  may  God  give,'  are  words  on  every  lip.  Also 
it  bears  witness  that  God  is  a  judge,  exclaiming 
that  God  sees,  and,  'I  commend  myself  to  God,'  and, 
'God  will  repay  me.'  O  noble  testimony  of  the  soul 
by  nature  Christian!  In  using  such  words,  it  looks 
not  to  the  Capitol,  but  to  the  Heavens  because  it 
knows  that  there  is  the  throne  of  the  Almighty,  as 
from  Him  and  from  thence  itself  came  down."^ 
"That  light,"  Tertullian  says  in  another  treatise, 
*'may  be  osbcured  because  it  is  not  God,  but  it  can 
not  be  put  out  entirely  because  it  is  from  God."- 

But  that  we  might  attain  an  ampler  and  more 
authoritative  knowledge  at  once  of  Himself  and  of 
His  counsels  and  will,  God  has  added  a  written 
revelation  wherein  those  who  seek  Him  may  find, 
and  finding  believe,  and  believing,  obey.^ 

The  ways  of  God  are  the  same  in  what  concerns 
morality,  that  is,  what  we  must  do.  He  has  written 
these  principles  of  morality  in  our  souls  but  has 
deemed  wise  to  carve  them  also  on  the  stone  tables 
which  Moses  brought  down  from  the  mountain. 
Our  obligations  are  proclaimed  both  by  an  inner 
voice  which  speaks  in  the  sanctuary  of  our  soul, 
and  by  outward  words  heard  amidst  thunder  and 
lightning. 4 

Faith,  then,  is  reason  protected  against  itself  by 
an  outward  help;  it  is  reason  raised  to  the  dignity 
of    the    supernatural,    widened,    deepened    and    en- 

^  Apol.  17:    De  Test.  an.  I.  ^  Anim.  41. 

^  Apol.  21.  -  ''  Apol.  21. 


34  TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

riched  by  God's  goodness.  These  two  powers  exercise 
their  full  activity  and  attain  their  perfection  on  con- 
dition that  each  one  know  and  acknowledge  its 
limitations.  "Let  curiosity  yield  to  faith.  Let 
ambition  give  place  to  salvation,  or,  at  least,  let 
them  either  relinquish  their  noisiness  or  else  be 
quiet.  "^ 

Both  faith  and  reason  have  their  enemies  and,  v/e 
might  say,  the  same  enemies,  for  what  benefits  the 
one  benefits  the  other,  what  harms  the  one  harms 
the  other,  and  what  kills  the  one  kills  the  other. 
With  a  wonderful  power  of  analysis,  Tertdllian 
describes  the  obstacles  which  hinder  the  soul,  by 
nature  Christian,  from  bearing  witness  to  the  truth. 
The  soul  lies  in  the  prison  of  the  body,  in  darkness 
and  in  the  midst  of  corruption.  It  can  not  take  its 
flight  as  high  and  as  far  as  it  would  fain  do.  At 
every  m.oment  it  is  stopped  by  the  walls  that  compass 
it  round. ^  Instead  of  prudently  retreating  to  recollect 
itself  and  gather  up  its  strength,  it  grows  angry,  flies 
into  a  passion  and  blasphemes  the  obstacle.^  More- 
over, that  sodl  is  depraved  by  education.^  It  was 
born,  it  has  grown  and  still  lives  amidst  surroundings 
in  which  error  and  a  thousand  prejudices  lead  an 
untrammelled  life.  It  breathes  a  poisonous  atmos- 
phere, it  lives  in  it  and  on  it,  and  all  its  faculties  are 
more  or  less  weakened  and  corrupted  by  it.  It  is 
enervated  by  passions  and  concupiscences  which 
lead  it  to  sin,  maintain  and  steep  it  in  disorder. ^ 
Thus  constrained,  poisoned  and  defiled,  the  soul, 
naturally  Christian,  is  the  slave  of  false  gods,  of  the 

^   Praeser.  33.         ^  Mart.  2.         ^  II.  Nat.  2;   Praesc.  28. 
4  I.  Nat.   i;    II.  Nat.   i.  s  Apol.  passim. 


TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS  35 

demons  which  seduce  it  more  and  more  and  make  it 
an  enemy  to  truth  and  virtue/  In  this  lamentable 
state,  it  becomes  the  born  adversary  of  the  soul 
supernaturally  Christian  and  communicates  to  it  the 
virus  of  corruption  and  depravity.^ 

Faith  indeed  enjoys  many  lights  which  are  a  special 
privilege,  but  it  neither  has  nor  can  have,  all  the 
light  reserved  to  the  state  of  glory.  It  enjoys  but  a 
limited  range  of  vision.  Instead  of  waiting  w4th 
grateful  humility  for  the  day  of  full  light,  it  grows 
impatient  and  chafes  at  what  it  has  not.  It  becomes 
curious  and  throws  itself  at  random  into  every  road 
that  it  sees  and  from  Vvhich  it  can  not  but  be  led 
astray. 3 

Then,  too,  faith  allows  itself  to  be  perverted  by* 
education.  It  frequents  the  philosophers  and  those 
who  love  and  admire  them.  It  loves  to  see  and  hold 
intercourse  with  them.  It  enamors  itself  of  their  sot 
called  principles ;  it  studies  their  methods ;  it  approves 
their  hopes  and  ambition ;  it  believes  in  their  deceitful 
promises;  it  envies  the  glory  which  is  their  lot  here 
below.  It  is  seduced  and  overtaken.  It  soon  busies 
itself  wdth  religious  truths  in  the  very  same 
manner  that  philosophy  wrangles  about  truths  of 
the  natural  order.  It  discusses,  argues,  grows  subtle, 
punctilious,  Tiair-splitting;  it  doubts,  denies  this  and 
that,  chooses  among  truths,  searches  endlessly,  and 
never  tires  in  the  search,  as  if  something  essential 
were  lacking  its  knowledge.-" 

TertuUian  has  very  often  pointed  out  in  lively 
terms  this  relationship  of  philosophy  and  heresies. 
"These  heresies  are  the  doctrines  of  men,   born  of 

^   De  Test.  an.  3;    Apol.  22.         ^   II.   Nat.   2;    Apol.  46. 
•3   Apol.   a6.  ■*  Praesc.   7. 


36  TERTULUAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

the  spirit  of  worldly  wisdom  for  itching  ears.  .  .  For 
philosophy  it  is,  which  is  the  material  part  of  the 
world's  wisdom,  the  rash  interpreter  of  the  nature 
and  the  dispensation  of  God.  Indeed,  the  heresies 
are  themselves  instigated  by  philosophy."^  He  then 
gives  some  very  clear  examples  of  this  filiation,  show- 
ing that  all  the  heretics  had  been  disciples  of  some 
noted  philosophers.  He  handles  very  roughly  Aris- 
totle and  his  method,  which  was  later  adopted  by  the 
heretics:  "Unhappy  Aristotle,  who  invented  for 
these  men  dialectics,  the  art  of  building  up  and 
pulling  down;  an  art  so  evasive  in  its  propositions, 
so  far-fetched  in  its  conjectures,  so  harsh  in  its 
arguments,  so  productive  of  contentions,  embarass- 
ing  even  to  itself,  retracting  every  thing  and  really 
treating  of  nothing.  Whence  spring  those  fables, 
and  endless  genealogies,  and  unprofitable  questions, 
and  words  which  eat  up  like  a  cancer."^ 

Faith  having  thus,  through  contact  with  philos- 
ophy, become  impatient  and  curious,  has  lost  the 
best  part  of  the  moral  strength  which  made  it 
conquer  sin:  passion  and  concupiscence  win  back 
their  dominion  over  the  soul  and  drag  it  to  its  per- 
dition through  shameful  and  lamentable  falls.  "So 
true  is  it,"  says  Tertullian,  after  having  detailed  the 
evil  life  of  the  heretics,  "that  from  the  nature  of 
their  conduct  may  be  estimated  the  quality  of  their 
faith.  In  their  discipline,  we  have  an  index  of  their 
doctrine."-^ 

Finally,  faith,  under  this  outward  and  inward 
pressure,  is  troubled  in  many  ways,  and  precipitated 
to  its  ruin  by  the  hateful  action  of  the  demon. 
"These    wiles    of    heretics,"    he    says    after    having 

^   Ibid.  id.  ^  Praesc.  7.  ^  Praesc.  43. 


TERTULLIAN   AND   HIS*  APOLOGETICS  37 

• 

enumerated  the  corruptions  of  the  vSacred  Scripture, 
"are  the  ingenious  arts  of  spiritual  wickedness."' 
And  if  any  one  asks  by  whom  is  to  be  interpreted 
the  sense  of  the  passages  which  make  for  heresies, 
he  answers:  "By  the  devil,  of  course,  to  whom 
pertain  those  wiles  which  pervert  the  truth. "^ 

Such  appears  to  be  the  central  idea  around  which 
most  of  Tertullian's  ideas  converge:  the  testimony 
of  the  soul  naturally  Christian,  listened  to  attentively 
and  w^ith  the  proper  dispositions  and  the  faith  of  this 
soul  supernatural ly  Christian,  fortified  by  the  Holy 
Scripture.  These  two  fountainheads  are  poisoned, 
the  one  by  philosophy,  the  other  by  heresy.  Philoso- 
phy and  heresy  are  the  two  names  for  one  and  the 
same   thing. 

These  two  wicked  pov^ers  have  their  character 
branded  upon  their  foreheads  where  it  may  be 
read  by  all.  Order, -^  unity, ^  immutabihty,^  author- 
itv,^  simplicity,"  light, '^  repose,^  such  are  the  true 
fruit  and  infallible  signs  of  truth.  On  the  contrary, 
ever-growang  disorders,'"  divisions  which  become 
manifold  with  them,"  complications  and  entangle- 
ments of  systems,'^  an  obscurity  which  pervades  all, '3 
restlessness,'-*  and  agitation,  changes  and  novelties 
without  end,  such  are  the  characteristics  and  fruits 
of  error  in  its  twofold  shape,  of  worldly  wisdom  and 
heresy. 

HoW'  will  this  leading  idea  under  the  double  pressure 

'   Praesc.  39.  '  Praesc.  40.         ^  Apol.  38;   Praesc.  41. 

^   Apol.  38;  Praesc.  38;  Poen.  10.    ^    Apol.  39;  Praesc.  41. 
^  Apol.  39;     Praesc.  43.  ^  An.  2,  3;    11,  Nat.  4. 

^  Apol.  24.       ^  Praesc.  33.     '"  Praesc.  41.      "   Praesc.  7. 
'^   Praesc.  8,  Apol.  35.  ^^  An.  24.  '-'   Praesc.  42. 


38  TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

of  the  time  unfold  itself  into  his  system  of  Apologetics? 
How  will  he  interpret  the  soul  naturally  Christian  to 
the  darkened  and  prejudiced  minds  of  the  pagans? 
What  arguments  will  convince  heretics  that  they 
are  perverting  and  leading  astray  their  souls  super- 
naturally  Christian?  Will  he  himself  adhere  consist- 
ently to  his  master-idea  or  will  he,  out  of  fresh 
materials,  build  unto  himself  a  ne\Y  frame  of  thought, 
and  with  what  results? 

These  and  cognate  questions  remain  to  be  answered 
in  the  second  part  of  this  essay. 


PART  II 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE 
LEADING  IDEA 


THRTULLIAN   AND   HIvS  APOLOGlvTICS  41 


CHAPTER    I\'. 

HIS    APOLOGETICS    AGAINST    THE     PAGANS. 

Summary — Tertullian's  confidence  in  the  convincing  power 
of  truth  and  realization  of  the  obstacles  to  truth.  Choice 
of  method  and  progress  in  its  application. — I.  First  step 
of  development  in  the  Ad  Nationes:  removal  of  prejudices 
is  the  purpose  of  the  treatise;  carrying  out  of  purpose; 
relation  with  leading  idea. — II.  Second  step  of  develop- 
ment in  the  Apologeticnm;  variety  of  opinions  as  to  its 
purpose;  intention  of  author  to  point  out  remedy  for  the 
state  of  pagan  society;  fulfilling  of  intention;  conclusion 
of  the  work. — III.  Third  step  in  De  Testimonio  Animae; 
a  new  testimony;  value  of  that  testimony;  appeal  to  the 
soul   freed   from   prejudices. 

The  violence  of  the  persecution  then  raging  against 
the  Christians  (197)  catised  no  surprise  to  TertuUian. 
He  knew  that  the  world  was  a  relentless  enemv 
of  the  truth,  and,  as  he  himself  puts  it,  that  the  truth 
was  a  wayfarer  upon  earth  who  found  but  foes 
among  strangers,  and  that  her  origin,  her  dwelling- 
place,  her  hope  and  her  reward  were  in  Heaven.' 
On  the  other  hand,  his  trust  in  the  conquering  power 
of  that  truth  which  had  conquered  him,  made  him 
desire  that  at  least  she  should  not  be  condemned 
imknown  and  unheard.  "Who  is  not  forced  by  con- 
templating her  to  seek  her  inner  worth?     Who  has 

^  I  Nat.,  I,  Apol.  I, 


42  TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

not  approached  her  as  soon  as  he  has  inquired? 
Let  truth  only  be  known  and  she  will  be  followed 
and  obeyed."'  Why  then  not  put  to  this  noble  task 
of  making  known  the  truth  the  talents  of  mind 
and  heart  hitherto  made  use  of  in  less  worthy  pursuits  ? 

His  keen  intellect  quickly  discerned  the  under- 
lying motives  of  this  hostility  to  the  truth.  The 
first  of  them  was  blindness.  Under  the  influence  of 
education,  of  social  environment,  of  worldly  interests 
and  passions,  man  was  shutting  his  eyes  to  the  inward 
and  outward  light  bestowed  upon  his  soul  by  his 
Maker,  and  was  forgetting  God.  Enthralled  by  his 
senses,  he  gave  no  thought  to  what  he  did  not  see, 
and,  in  time,  forgot  entirely  what  had  no  place  in 
his  thoughts.  "His  eyes  are  open  and  yet  he  sees 
not;  his  ears  are  unstopped,  yet  he  hears  not;  though 
his  heart  is  beating  yet  it  is  dull."'  The  moment  he 
heeds  the  truth,  in  that  very  moment  he  ceases  to 
hate  it. 3  The  malignant  character  of  this  blindness 
is  made  worse  by  the  inconceivable  pride  that  swells 
the  human  heart.  Against  the  wisdom  of  God, 
man  has  set  up  the  wisdom  of  the  world  which  is 
a  corruption,  an  affectation  of  the  former. ^  Knowing 
but  little,  he  aims  at  knowing  all;  and  as  a  m.eans 
to  that  end,  he  drags  down  to  his  gross  ideal  what- 
ever lies  beyond  his  grasp.  Truth,  indeed,  fares  ill 
at  the  hands  of  proud  and  blind  mankind. 

Thus  both  the  consciousness  of  the  subduing 
attractiveness  of  truth  and  the  clear  realization  of 
the  obstacles  that  barred  its  entrance  to  the  hearts 
and   minds   of   men,    suggested   TertuUian's   method 

'  Apol.  i8;    50.  ""  I  Nat.  1;    Apol.  i. 

^  "Simul  desinunt  ignorare,  cessant  et  odisse"  Apol.  i. 
"•   Praesc.  1 1 . 


TERTULLIAN   AND   HKS  APOLOGETICS  43 

of  Apologetics.  He  felt  that  his  purpose  would  be 
achieved  if  his  readers  were  lead  so  near  to  the  truth 
that  their  wills  would  be  moved  to  a  change  of 
attitude  and  life. 

The  fight  was  to  be  directed  against  the  insti- 
tutions of  the  ancients,  against  the  authority  of 
tradition,  against  the  prevailing  laws  and  the  subtlety 
and  learning  of  the  Philosophers.'  In  the  face  of 
so  many  and  so  powerful  opponents  could  Tertullian 
present  the  truth  directly,  as  he  knew  it?  Such  a 
method  he  had  followed  in  his  address  to  the  Martyrs, 
when  he  had  spoken  to  them  of  the  freedom  of  their 
dungeons  and  the  grandeur  of  their  torments.^  But 
those  to  whom  he  penned  this  eloquent  exhortation 
were  bound  with  chains  for  their  faith  and  were 
therefore  capable  of  realizing  the  significance  of 
the  truths  that  were  offered  them.  The  same 
method,  if  applied  to  prejudiced  unbelievers,  would 
necessarily  fail  of  its  purpose,  for  "did  they  not 
more  easily  believe  the  evil  that  was  false  than  the 
good    which    was    true?"' 

It  was  quite  as  much  out  of  the  question  to  employ 
the  m.eans  used  by  the  foes  of  truth  themselves, 
who,  in  their  assaults  upon  the  truth,  availed  them- 
selves liberally  of  the  art  of  words  and  sophistical 
argumentation.  Nothing,  in  the  mind  of  Tertullian, 
was  smaller  than  this  and  nothing  more  unworthy 
of  truth,  w^hich  needed  no  such  device.^  Nor  was  it 
practical  to  use  Christian  literature  as  an  instrument 
of  persuasion.  Justin,  the  Philosopher,  it  is  true, 
had  done  so  in  his  Apology,  but  how  fruitlessly!    Very 

^  II  Nat.  I.  2   Mart,  passim. 

•^  "FaciHus  falso  malo  quam  vero  bono  creditur."    I  Nat.  7. 
4  II  Nat.  4;    I  Nat.  i. 


44  TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS 

few  knew  the  Christian  books  and  those  who  perchance 
had  read  them  deemed  their  testimiony  worthless.^ 
Indeed  none  but  the  Christian  profited  by  them/ 
There  remained  the  method  of  the  Greek  Apolo- 
gists. They  had  tried  to  meet  the  pagans  on  their 
own  grounds,  displaying  extensive  erudition  in  the 
search  of  the  poets'  and  philosophers'  testimonies 
to  the  Christian  truths  It  was  thus  proved  that 
the  Christians  held  nothing  new  or  dangerous. 
Unhappily  the  unbelieving  hardness  of  the  human 
heart  blunted  the  sharpness  of  these  weapons. 
Aristides,  Ariston,  Rhodon,  Miltiades  and  Athena- 
goras  had  wasted  their  strength  in  a  barren  labor. 
Their  arguments  were  met  with  the  rejoinder: 
"The  poets  are  fools  when  they  picture  the  Gods 
with  human  passions  and  the  philosophers  are  with- 
out reason  when  they  knock  at  the  gates  of  truth. "'^ 
Until  then  they  were  looked  upon  as  wise;  after 
that,  they  were  branded  as  Christians. 

Tertullian  had  carefully  weighed  these  various 
methods. s  Experience  had  taught  him  their  ineffi- 
ciency upon  the  pagan  minds  of  his  time  and  while 
he  gave  credit  to  the  early  apologists  who  had  de- 
fended the  Christian  religion  before  him,  he  had 
made  up  his  mind  to  follow  a  plan  of  his  own.  But 
although  such  an  intention  from  the  beginning  lay 
foremost  in  his  mind,  in  the  practical  carrying  out 
of  his  ideal,  a  sort  of  progress  and  a  growing  reali- 
zation of  its  practical  adaptability  to  the  situation 
are  evident.  At  first  his  leading  tendency  had  to 
struggle  against  the  unconscious  influences  of  edu- 
cation and  environment.    Hence  in  his  work,  details 

'  I  Apol.  15.  2  De  Test.  an.  I. 

^   I  Apol.  24  sqq.  -*   De  Test.  an.  i.  ^   Ibid.  id. 


TRRTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS  45 

are    found    which    cannot    be    reconciled    with    that 
he  primarily  intended.     One  feels  for  instance   that 
the   writer  has  long  listened   to   the   Rhetors  of  his 
native    city,    when    he    refutes    the    accusation    of 
tertium  genus, "^  that  of  adoring  a  cross^  and  of  impiety 
towards    the    gods.^      It    is    noteworthy,    however, 
that  this  defect  is  less  common  and  less  prominent 
in  the  Apologeticum  than  in  ''Ad  Nationes",  and  that 
it  is  altogether  absent  from  "  De  testimonio  anhnae." 
Likewise,  many  ideas  expressed  in  the  early  Christian 
writers    had    clung    to    his    mind    and    consequently 
certain   assertions   of   his   could   not   enter   into   the 
pagan  view  of  things.     Thus,  for  instance,  when  he 
describes  the   part   played  by  the   demons  in   daily 
life, 4   or   when    he    affirms    their   identification   with 
the  statues  of  the  gods,s  or  when  he  states  that  the 
philosophers  had  known  the  Old  Testament  and  had 
drawn  from  it  the  truths  w^hich  they  gave  out  as 
their    own.^      All    these    ideas    were     commonplace 
with   the   Greek   apologists   and,    though   there    was 
nothing  in  them  that  sounded  strange  to  the  mind 
of  the  author,  it  would  not  be  so  with  the  pagans. 
The  sharp  wit   of   Lucian   of  Samosata   would  have 
made  easy  game  of  what  Tertullian  viewed  as  true 
beyond  doubt.   We  even  find  him  invoking  the  theories 
of   the   philosophers   as   proofs   of   certain   points   of 
Christian     doctrine.       Thus    in     Ad     Nationes     he 
justified    his    belief    in    the    future    life    by    parallel 
opinions    found    in    pagan    literature',   and    in    the 
Apologeticum    he    quotes    the    philosophical    theories 


^  I  Nat.  8;    Apol.  15.  ^  I  Nat.  9;    Apol.  16. 

^  Apol.  12.  ''  Apol.  12;    24.  "^  Apol.   12. 

^  II  Nat.  2;    Apol.  I,  44,  49.  '    I  Nat.  19. 


46  TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

explaining  the  Logos/  the  demon, ^  the  future  life^ 
and  the  immortality  of  the  soul  as  presumptions 
to  support  the  Christian  doctrine  on  those  subjects. 
However,  when,  com.paring  Tertullian's  treatment 
of  the  same  question  with  that  of  Justin  and  Anthena- 
goras,  we  note  the  relative  brevity  with  which  these 
testim^onies  are  dismissed  in  Tertullian,  it  is  natural 
to  conclude  that  this  particular  method  of  apolo- 
getics was  no  essential  part  of  his  psychology  but 
rather  a  remnant  of  the  early  education  which  shaped 
his  judgements  and  to  a  great  extent  his  whole  mind. 
There  were  in  him  deeper  tendencies  and  desires, 
which,  woven  into  the  very  texture  of  his  intellect, 
would  gradually  unfold  his  apologetical  thought 
according  to  a  preconceived  order  and  plan. 

The  two  books  Ad  Nationes  are  the  first  step 
of  this  development.  As  Monceaux  has  well  remarked, 
we  do  not  find  in  them  a  direct  defence  of  the  Christian 
religion,  though  many  details  tend  to  that  purpose. + 
Tertullian's  aim  is  not  so  much  to  exculpate  his 
brethren  as  to  open  the  eyes  of  his  enemies,  to  force 
them  to  know  themselves,  with  the  ultim.ate  design 
of  bringing  them  to  acknowledge  his  religion  as  the 
one  to  be  embraced.  If  he  protests  the  innocence 
of  the  Christians, "^  if  he  emphasizes  the  moral  worth 
of  their  doctrine  of  a  future  life,*"  he  does  not  primarily 
m.ean  to  illustrate  or  prove  the  Christian  doctrine 
but  to  cast  light  on  the  guilty  ignorance  and  stu- 
pidity of  the  pagans.'  This  is  why  he  does  not 
refute  the  calumnies  but  rather  contends  that  the 
pagans    are    guilty    of    the    very    same    crimes    that 

^  Apol.  21.       -   Ibid.  22.     ^  Ibid.  47.      ^   Op.  cit.  p.  213. 
5   I  Nat.  I,  7-9.  ^'  I  Nat.  19.  ^  j  Nat.  i. 


TERTILIJAN   AND   HIS  APOLOGIvTICS  47 

are  charged  against  the  Christians.  Tertullian  him- 
self was  conscious  of  such  a  purpose:  "Pour  out 
now  all  your  venom,  fling  against  our  name  all  the 
shafts  of  your  calumny.  I  shall  stay  no  longer  to 
refute  them,  but  they  shall  by  and  by  be  blunted 
when  we  come  to  explain  our  v/hole  discipline. 
I  shall  content  myself  now  indeed  vv'ith  plucking 
the  shafts  out  of  our  own  body  and  hurling  them 
back  on  yourselves.  The  same  wounds  which  you 
have  inflicted  on  us  by  your  charges,  I  shall  show 
to  be  imprinted  on  yourselves,  that  you  may  fall 
by  your  own  sword  and  javelin."^ 

The  general  plan  and  conclusion  of  the  two  works 
give  evidence  of  such  an  intention.  The  culpably 
blind  ignorance  of  the  pagans  is  first  emphasized 
as  a  proof  of  the  conscious  iniquity  which  is  back 
of  the  persecution. 2  Another  illustration  of  the  same 
ill-will  is  found  in  the  shocking  irregularity  of  the 
legal  procedure  employed  against  the  Christians.^ 
In  order  to  satisfy  their  fanatical  and  unnatural 
hatred  the  pagans  do  not  hesitate  to  violate  all 
the  common  laws  of  court  and  equity.  Their  calum- 
nies which  are  the  outgrowth  of  the  same  hatred 
are  also  against  all  common  sense:  "Under  the  same 
natural  form,  malice  and  folly  have  always  been 
associated  in  one  body  and  growth  and  have  ever 
opposed  the  truth  under  the  one  instigator  of  error. "^ 
And  how  low  and  degraded  the  ideal  of  the  pagans 
in  the  excerise  of  their  religion, ^  in  their  domestic 
observance''  and  even  in  the  performance  of  civic 
duties.^  They  daily  commit  the  very  faults  of  which 
thev  maliciouslv  accuse  the  Christians.    It  is  evident 

'  I  Nat.  10.  2  I  Nat.  2.        ^   i  ^at.  ^.        ^   I  Xat.  4. 

s  I  Nat.  10,  II,  14.  ^  I  Nat.  15,  16.  '    I  Xat.  17. 


48  TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

that  for  Tertullian  the  inspection  of  error  is  the 
beginning  of  the  recognition  of  truth.  He  invited 
his  adversaries  to  examine  their  own  consciences 
before  they  examine  the  consciences  of  the  Chris- 
tians/ The  result  of  such  an  act  cannot  fail  to  bring 
home  the  realization  that  the  Christians  must  be 
known  before  they  can  be  condemned,  and  on  this 
point  his  conclusion  is  worth  quoting:  "You  indulge 
to  the  full  that  fault  of  human  nature  that  those 
things  which  you  do  not  disallow  in  yourselves 
you  condemn  in  others,  or  you  boldly  charge  against 
others  those  things  the  guilt  of  which  you  retain  a 
lasting  consciousness  of  in  yourselves.  The  course 
of  life  in  which  3^ou  will  choose  to  occupy  yourselves 
is  different  from  ours:  whilst  chaste  in  the  eyes  of 
others,  you  are  unchaste  towards  your  own  selves; 
whilst  vigorous  against  vice  out-of-doors,  you  suc- 
cumb to  it  at  home.  This  is  the  injustice  which  we 
have  to  suffer,  that,  knowing  truth,  we  are  con- 
demned by  those  who  know  it  not;  free  from  guilt, 
we  are  judged  by  those  who  are  implicated  in  it. 
Remove  the  mote,  or  rather  the  beam  out  of  your 
own  eye,  that  you  may  be  able  to  extract  the  mote 
from  the  eyes  of  others.  Amend  your  own  lives 
first,  that  you  may  be  able  to  punish  the  Christians. 
Only  so  far  as  you  shall  have  effected  your  own 
reformation,  will  you  refuse  to  inflict  punishment 
on  them^ — nay  so  far,  you  will  have  become  Christians 
yourselves;  and  as  far  as  you  will  have  become 
Christians,  so  far  you  will  have  compassed  your 
own  amendment  of  life.  Learn  what  that  is  which 
you  accuse  in  us,  and  you  will  accuse  no  longer; 
search  out  what  that  is  which  you  do  not  accuse  in 
'  I  Nat.  19. 


TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS  49 

• 

yourselves,  and  you  will  become  self-accusers.  From 
these  very  few  and  humble  remarks,  so  far  as  we 
have  been  able  to  open  out  the  subject  to  you,  you 
will  plainly  get  some  insight  into  your  own  error 
and  some  discovery  of  our  truth.  Condemn  that 
truth  if  you  haye  the  heart,  but  only  after  you  have 
examined  it;  and  approve  the  error  still,  if  you  are 
so  minded,  only  first  explore  it.  But  if  your  pre- 
scribed rule  is  to  love  error  and  hate  truth,  why, 
let  me  ask,  do  you  not  prove  to  a  full  discovery  the 
objects  both  of  your  love  and  of  your  hatred?"' 

A  vehement  appeal  is  thus  made  to  the  soul 
naturally  Christian  of  the  pagan  to  remove  from  its 
own  heart  all  the  obstacles  that  impede  the  ingress 
of  truth  into  it.  It  must  first  know  itself  and  acknow- 
ledge  its  own  monstrous  disorders,  that  it  may  look 
upon  the  light  and  the  truth  with  fairness  and  the 
dispositions  required  by  the  God  of  Light  and  of 
Truth. 

A  further  step  is  taken  in  the  second  book  Ad 
Nationes.  "Our  defence  requires  that  we  should 
at  this  point  discuss  with  you  the  character  of  your 
Gods,  O  ye  heathen,  fit  objects  of  our  pity,  appealing 
even  to  your  own  conscience  to  determ.ine  whether 
they  be  truly  gods,  as  you  would  have  it  supposed, 
or  falsely,  as  you  are  unwilling  to  have  it  proved, 
for  this  is  the  material  part  of  error  that  it  is  never 
free  from  the  ignorance  of  error,  whence  your  guilt 
is  greater."-  Here  again  the  soul  is  bidden  to  go 
into  itself  to  test  the  basis  of  its  own  beliefs.  Lender 
normal  circumstances  a  demurrer  could  be  advanced 
and  would  convince  the  minds  of  the  pagans:    "As 

^   I  Nat.  19.  '  II.  Nat.  i 


50  TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

• 

all  the  pagan  gods  have  been  instituted  by  man, 
all  belief  in  the  true  deity  is  by  this  circumstance 
brought  to  nought,  because,  of  course,  nothing 
which  some  time  or  other  had  a  beginning  can  rightly 
seem  to  be  divine."^  But  this  argument  which  the 
Greek  apologists  had  already  used  is  too  exterior  and 
would  have  no  power  against  the  prejudices  of  the 
pagans.  Their  callous  consciences  must  be  shaken 
by  a  vivid  description  of  the  stupidity  and  unreason- 
ableness of  the  pagan  deities.  In  order  to  meet  the 
adversaries  on  their  own  ground  TertuUian  takes  for 
the  basis  of  his  treatise  the  work  of  Varro  on  Divine 
Things,  knowing  that  the  authorit}^  of  literature 
goes  farther  with  them  than  the  nature  of  things 
themselves. 3  He  shows  that  in  reality  the  pagans  are 
worshipping  gods  made  up  by  the  proud  and  all 
•sufficient  wisdom  of  the  philosophers, ^  of  that  wis- 
dom "which  attests  its  own  weakness  mainly  by 
that  variety  of  opinions  which  proceeds  from  the 
ignorance  of  the  truth."  According  to  him,  even  that 
which  the  said  philosopher's  discovered  degenerated 
into  uncertainty^  and  there  arose  from  one  or  two 
drops  of  perfect  truth  a  perfect  flood  of  argumen- 
tation.s  For  after  they  had  found  simply  God,  they 
did  not  expose  Him  as  they  found  Him,  but  rather 
disputed  about  His  quality,  and  His  nature  and 
even  about  His  abode.  "Vain  indeed  are  those 
supports  of  human  learning,  which  by  their  artful 
method  of  weaving  conjectures,  belie  both  wisdom 
and  truth."''  The  author  goes  on  to  prove  that  the 
gods  invented  by  the  poets  are  even  more  vicious 
than   the    men    who    worship    them,'    and    that   the 

'  Ibid.  id.  '  Ibid.  id.         ^  II  Nat.  i.  ^  ibid.  id. 

5  Ibid.  id.  ^  II  Nat.  7.  ^  n  ^at.  8. 


TKRTULLIAN   AND   HIS  APOLOGKTICS  51 

national  deities  are  nothing  more  than  abstractions, 
or  allegories,  or  men  long  since  dead,  or  even  inani- 
mate things.'  As  to  the  shameful  gods  of  Rome, 
thev  cannot  exercise  any  influence  on  the  destiny 
and  growth  of  the  Roman  Empire,  since  they  have 
never  existed.'  "It  is  the  fortune  of  time  that  has 
thus  constantly  shaken  kingdoms  with  revolutions. 
Inquire  who  has  ordained  these  changes  in  the  times. 
It  is  the  same  great  Being  w^ho  dispenses  kingdoms, 
and  has  now  put  the  suprem.acy  of  them  into  the 
hands  of  the  Romans,  very  much  as  if  the  tribute 
of  many  nations  were  after  its  exaction  amassed 
in  our  vast  coffer.  What  He  has  determined  con- 
cerning it,  they  know  who  are  near  Him."'  Thus 
the  author,  after  having  forced  the  soul  naturally 
Christian  to  a  minute  inspection  of  the  prejudices 
and  the  follies  that  blind  and  dishonor  it,  concludes 
by  an  exhortation  to  seek  the  truth  in  Him  who 
rules  the  world  and  makes  the  Roman  great,  and 
thus  leaves  his  readers  under  the  influence  of  his 
proud  assertion  that  they  who  serve  Christ  are 
possessors  of  the  truth.  Having  shaken  the  trust 
of  the  pagans  in  themselves  and  their  false  gods, 
he  may  hope  to  bring  them  to  a  knowledge  of  the 
One  and  only  true  God. 

It  is  easy  to  perceive  how  the  general  conception 
of  the  tw^o  works  together  with  all  the  details  of 
development  and  elaboration  are  the  outgrov^th 
of  wliat  we  have  termed  the  leading  idea  of  Ter- 
tullian.  It  is  the  presence  of  evil  and  of  pride 
which    causes    ignorance    and    hatred    of    the    truth. 


'  II  Nat.  9-17. 
'  II  Nat.  17. 


52  TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

Folly  and  vice  conspire  for  ill-doing^  and  not  only 
does  the  proud  soul  ignore  the  truth  latent  within 
itself  but  also  its  own  corruption.  Naturally  its 
judgements  are  infected  by  the  source  whence  they 
spring.  It  is,  therefore,  necessary  to  show  the  soul 
its  actual  state  under  the  most  vivid  and  realistic 
colors  so  that,  realizing  how  far  it  is  from  the  truth 
and  the  good,  it  may  be  shamed  to  efforts  at  im- 
provement and  search  the  truth  which  will  make 
it    free. 

In  the  Apologeticum  there  is  seen  a  progress  in  the 
development  of  his  leading  idea.  Much  of  the 
material  gathered  for  the  Ad  Nationes  was  meant  to 
be  used  in  this  second  treatise.^  We  know  that  even 
at  the  time  the  author  had  in  his  mind  to  write  a 
second  book  with  a  purpose  of  its  own  yet  con- 
nected with  the  one  upon  which  he  was  then  at 
work  and  completing  it.^  In  order  to  follow  the 
logical  evolution  of  his  ideas,  it  is  most  important 
to  find  out  the  precise  kind  of  relation  which  he 
meant  to  establish  between  the  two.  This  question 
has  given  birth  to  the  most  divergent  theories. 
Critics  who  look  at  the  problem  from  a  literary 
viewpoint  note  the  progress  of  the  style  manifested 
in  the  Apologeticum.  Their  conclusion  was  that  the 
Ad  Nationes  was  designed  to  be  a  sort  of  rough 
cop}^  of  the  Apologeticum.^  Others  whose  examination 
is  even  more  superficial  observed  merely  that  the 
vrorks    have    much    in    common    and    that    the    Ad 


^   "Ex  forma  natural!  concorporata  et  concreta  intercessit 
malitia  et  stultitia."     Apol.  9. 

'   I  Nat.  7-8;    II,   14;    Apol.  3,  7-8,   16. 
3  II  Nat.  7,   10,   13,   15. 
'♦  Freppel,  op.  cit.  cap.  2. 


TERTULLIAN   AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS  53 

Nationes  is  much  shorter  than  the  Apologeticuyn: 
hence  they  say,  the  former  is  an  abridged  edition  of 
the  latter.'  These  are  the  main  sokitions  proposed 
b}^  the  ecclesiastical  writers  of  the  seventeenth 
century  and  followed  by  most  historians  of  the 
last  half  of  the   nineteenth  century. 

M.  Monceaux,  however,  has  put  forth  a  new 
explanation.  Though  taking  into  account  the  pre- 
vious suggestions,  he  goes  farther.  His  study  of  the 
inner  structure  of  the  Apologeticum  revealed  to  him 
that  all  the  arguments,  even  those  already  put 
forward  in  the  Ad  Nationes,  were  subordinated  to  a 
dominant  idea  and  that  much  of  their  real  m.eaning 
and  strength  was  due  to  this  subjection.  In  his 
opinion,  ever}^  thing  is  reducible  to  the  positive 
concept  of  law  and  right.  Therefore,  in  spite  of 
seeming  analogies  and  of  mau}^  borrowed  details, 
there  is  a  wide  difference  between  the  Apologeticum 
and  the  Ad  Nationes.^  Tertullian  purposed  to  wage 
war  against  paganism  and  at  the  samx  time  to  find 
a  sort  of  modus  vivendi  for  his  religion.  As  the  two 
programs  could  hardly  be  realized  at  the  same 
time  without  sacrificing  a  portion  of  each,  he  devoted 
to  each  of  them  separate  works.  The  first  conception 
fills  the  Ad  Nationes,  while  the  juridical  discussion 
prevails  in   the   Apologeticum. 

However  much  of  an  improvement  this  theory 
seems  to  be,  it  may  be  thought  not  to  explain 
everything  in  the  book.  M.  Monceaux  has  felt 
this  himself,  for  in  his  analysis  of  the  work,  while 
tracing  the  development  of  the  idea  of  legal  revendi- 

'   Tillemont,   op.   cit.   Vol.   Ill   gives  the  various  theories. 
^  Ibid.  id.  p.  217:    "II  y  a  un  abime  entre  I'Apologetique 
et  le  Ad  Nationes." 


54  TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS 

cation,  he  meets  with  many  chapters  which  can  not 
possibly  enter  into  his  hypothesis.''  The  difficulty 
becomes  greater  when  the  author  refutes  the  philo- 
sophers and  shows  that  his  religion  is  superior  to 
their  speculation  in  its  discipline  and  dogmas.  M. 
Monceaux  is  then  forced  to  say  that  the  logical 
order  is  destroyed  and  the  harmony  of  the  compo- 
sition broken.  When  one  thinks  of  TertuUian's 
care  in  the  arrangement  of  his  ideas,  it  is  reasonable 
to  shrink  from  such  a  supposition.  Moreover,  as 
we  have  seen,  the  chief  objection  to  the  theory  lies 
in  the  fact  that  it  tears  the  most  important  chapters 
from  the  body  of  the  work. 

Does  not  the  solution  of  the  difficulty  lie  within 
what  we  know  of  TertuUian's  intention  in  writing 
the  Apologeticum?  He  had  just  published  a  treatise, 
the  purpose  of  which  was  not  to  defend  directly  his 
religion  but  rather  to  remove  the  cause  of  prejudices 
against  it,  to  make  known  to  the  pagans  what  they 
themselves  were,  to  show  them  that  they  might 
with  advantage  take  a  more  favorable  view  of  the 
Christian  religion.  Once  this  task  performed,  the 
next  logical  step  was  to  point  out  the  remedy  which 
should  be  applied  to  all  the  wounds  and  sores  so 
vividly  described.  In  order,  therefore,  that  the 
contrast  between  the  two  religions  ma}^  appear 
more  striking,  the  author  will  repeat  certain  of  his 
attacks  against  paganism  but  this  time  with  the 
specific  purpose  of  placing  an  unmistakable  anti- 
thesis between  the  true  and  the  false.  The  conclusion 
will  be  evident  that  beliefs  and  practices  productive 
of  such  perfect  men  and  perfect  citizens  as  make  up 
the  great  majority  of  the  Ch^  istian  body  are  certainly 

'  Apol.    17,   24,   26,   27,   30,   39,   44. 


TKRTULLIAN  AND  HLS  APOLOGETICS  5.5 

true    and    should   claim  the  whole-hearted  assent  of 
all  right-minded  men. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  work,  there  are  evi- 
dences of  this  general  intention.  As  the  objection 
is  raised  against  the  widespread  propagation  of  Christi- 
anity that  large  multitudes  not  unfrequently  turn 
from  good  to  bad,  the  author  replies  that  one  of  the 
infallible  signs  of  conversion  to  his  religion  is  a  change 
of  life  in  the  convert.  "  'A  good  man,  says  one,  is 
Gains  Seius,  only  that  he  is  a  Christian.'  So  another: 
'  I  am  astonished  that  a  wise  man  like  Lucius  should 
have  suddenly  become  a  Christian. '  Nobody  considers 
whether  Gaius  is  not  good  and  Lucius  wise  on  the 
very  account  that  he  is  a  Christian,  or  a  Christian 
for  the  reason  that  he  is  wise  and  good."^  In  vain  is 
the  authority  of  the  law  invoked  against  the 
Christians^  "If  you  would  have  it  unlawful  to  be 
a  Christian,  because  it  ought  not  to  be  lawful, without 
doubt  that  should  have  no  permission  of  law  which 
does  harm  and  on  this  ground,  in  fact,  it  is  already 
determined  that  whatever  is  beneficial  is  lawful."-^ 
Do  we  not  see  here  Tertullian's  application  of  the 
jurisconsults  of  his  age  to  the  general  idea  of  his 
apologetics^  Further,  he  urges:  Is  it  not  a  well- 
known  fact  that  the  law^s  directed  against  the 
Christians  are  nothing  more  than  vicious  enact- 
ments of  vicious  emperors?  "It  should  surely  be 
judged  more  natural  for  bad  men  to  be  eradicated 
by  good  princes  as  being  their  natural  enemies, 
than    by    those    of    spirit    kindred    to    their    own."^ 

^  Apol.  3. 

^  Apol.  4:  "  Quodsi,  quia  non  debet,  ideo  non  vultis  licere, 
sine  dubio  id  non  debet  licere  quod  male  fit,  et  utique  hoc 
ipso  praeiudicatur  licere  quod  bene  fit."  ^   Ibid.    id. 


56  TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

Against  the  infamous  .calumnies  hurled  at  the 
Christians,  TertuUian  appeals  to  the  soul  in  its 
natural  state:  "I  confidently  appeal  to  nature 
herself  ever  true,  against  those  who  groundlessly. 
hold  that  such  things  ought  to  be  credited."'  And 
indeed  how  can  believers  in  the  promise  of  an  eternal 
life  be  thought  to  strive  after  it  with  a  conscience 
such  as  they  are  accused,  of  having  P^  "  If  the  pagans 
would  only  take  notice  that  such  sins  prevail  among 
them,  that  would  lead  them  to  see  that  they  have 
no  existence  among  the  Christians.  The  same  fact 
would  tell  them  both  facts. "^  Nor  are  the  Christians 
guilty  of  impiety  towards  the  Gods.  "We  protest 
and  appeal  from  yourselves  to  3^our  knowledge: 
let  that  judge  or  let  that  condemn  us,  if  it  can  deny 
that  all  these  gods  of  yours  were  but  men. "4  "As 
to  the  object  of  their  worship,  it  is  implied  as  the 
corollary  of  their  rejection  of  the  lie  that  renders 
homage  to  the  truth."  "The  object  of  our  worship 
is  the  One  God,  He  who  by  His  commanding  word, 
His  arranging  wisdom.  His  mighty  power,  brought 
forth  from  nothing  this  entire  mass  of  the  world, 
with  all  its  array  of  elements,  bodies,  spirits,  for 
the  glory  of  His  majesty.  .  .  .The  eye  can  not  see 
Him,  though  He  is  spiritually  visible.  He  is  incom- 
prehensible, though  in  grace  He  is  manifested. 
He  is  beyond  our  utmost  thought,  though  our  human 
faculties  conceive  of  Him.  He  is  therefore  equally 
real  and  great.  .  .  .Our  very  incapacit}^  of  fully 
grasping  Him  affords  us  the  idea  of  what  He  really 
is.  He  is  presented  to  our  minds  in  His  transcen- 
dent greatness,  as  at  once  known  and  unknown. 
And  this  is  the  crowning  guilt  of  men  that  they  will 

'  Apol.   7.  ^  ibid.  id.  ^  Apol.  9.  ''  Apol.  10. 


TERTVLUAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS  57 

not  recognize  One  of  whom  they  can  not  possibly 
be  ignorant."'  "His  existence  can  be  proved  from 
the  work  of  His  hands,  so  numerous  and  so  great; 
and  from  the  testimony  of  the  soul  itself  which  is 
naturally  Christian.^  In  addition  to  what  the  soul 
knows  naturally,  God  vouchsafed  to  man  a  written 
revelation  through  men  whose  stainless  righteousness 
made  them  worthy  to  know  the  Most  High  and  to 
reveal  Him,  men  abundantly  endowed  with  the 
Holy  Ghost.  These  men  proved  the  authority  of 
their  mission  by  the  miracles  which  they  performed.^ 
The  vScriptures  themselves  which  they  wrote  are 
stamped  with  divine  characteristics.  They  foretold 
the  future  and  any  one  may  now  see  the  fulfilment 
of  these  prophecies. "^  "Your  instructors,  the  world 
and  the  age,  and  the  events  are  all  before  you. 
All  that  is  taking  place  among  you  was  foretold, 
all  that  you  see  with  your  eyes  was  previously  heard 
by  the  ear."s  Such  are  the  grounds  of  the  belief  of 
the  Christian,  some  internal  and  inborn  in  him, 
others  added  to  his  nature,  raising  him  above 
himself. 

As  to  Christ  whom  the  Christians  worship  as  God, 
let  not  the  pagans  think  that  He  is  but  a  human 
being.  The  characteristics  of  His  life  and  death 
mark  Him  as  divine.  His  coming  was  foretold; 
He  was  born  of  a  mother,  in  a  sense  which  involved 
no  impurity;  He  performed  miracles,  suffered 
torments  and  died  a  death  which  He  Himself  had 
predicted  in  all  their  details.  He  arose  from  the 
dead,  wes  taken  into  heaven  and,  to  proclaim  Him, 
His  disciples  scattered  over  the  whole  world  as  the 

'  Apol.  17.  ^  Ibid.  id.  5  Apol.  18. 

^  Apol.  19.  5   Ibid.  id. 


58  TERTULUAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

Master  had  bidden  them  do,  and  sowed  the  seed  of 
the  Christian  faith/  The  present  generation,  Hke 
the  Apostles,  is  ready  to  die  in  its  confession  of 
Him:  "We  say  and  before  all  men  we  repeat,  and 
torn  and  bleeding  under  torture  we  cry  out:  'We 
worship  God  through  Christ. '  Let  the  pagans 
only  search  whether  the  divinity  of  Christ  be  true: 
"If  it  be  of  such  a  nature  that  the  acceptance  of  it 
transforms  a  man  and  makes  him  truly  good,  there 
is  implied  in  it  the  duty  of  renouncing  what  is 
opposed  to  it  as  false. "^  Another  proof  that  Christ 
is  divine  is  found  in  the  very  confession  of  the 
enemies  of  Christ,  the  demons:  "Fearing  Christ  in 
God  and  God  in  Christ,  they  become  subjects  to 
the  servants  of  God  and  of  Christ."^ 

This  belief  in  Christ  based  on  such  testimonies  is 
found  to  color  the  lives  of  the  Christians  in  all  its 
details.  They  do  not  lack  devotedness  nor  loyalty 
to  the  Empire  and  the  Emperor  as  they  are  accused 
of  doing;  there  is  even  a  vivid  contrast  between  the 
conduct  of  the  Christians  and  that  of  the  pagans 
in  that  regard.  The  Christians  .  pray  for  the 
Emperor,  for  Roman  interests  and  they  do  so  at 
the  command  of  their  sacred  book.^  Their  social 
relations  with  their  pagan  brethren  and  their 
Christian  neighbors  are  blameless. ^  They  seek  no 
revenge  on  their  enemies.  Their  life  is  one  of  singular 
perfection:  "We  are  a  body  knit  together  as  such 
by  a  common  religious  profession,  by  unity  of  disci- 
pline and  the  bond  of  a  common  hope."^  They  love 
one  another.  They  are  one  in  mind  and  soul.  They 
do   not   hesitate   to    share   their   earthly   goods   one 

^     Apol.    21.  ^     Apol.    21.  ^     Apol.    22. 

■^   Apol.  30-36.  5  Apol.  37.  ^  Apol.  3S. 


TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS  59 

with  another.  Their  religious  feasts  are  true  love 
feasts,  not  meetings  of  debauchery  as  are  those  of 
the  pagans.^  They  are  faithful  citizens  and  scru- 
pulous in  the  fulfilment  of  their  last  civic  duties.^ 
No  Christian's  name  is  ever  found  on  the  prison 
register.^  When  the  basis  of  this  moral  perfection 
is  sought,  it  is  found  that  it  rests  not  on  accident  but 
on  necessity. 4  "Taught  of  God  Himself  what  good- 
ness is,  we  have  both  a  perfect  knowledge  of  it  as 
revealed  to  us  by  a  perfect  Master  and  faithfully 
we  do  His  will,  as  enjoined  on  us  by  an  incentive  to 
virtue  and  a  preventive  of  vice:  No  doubt  about  it, 
they  who  receive  awards  under  the  judgment  of 
an  all-seeing  God  and  who  look  to  Him  for  eternal 
punishment  for  their  sins,  they  alone  make  real 
efforts  to  attain  a  blameless  life."^ 

Unbelief,  at  this  point  would  fain  shake  the  divine 
foundation  of  Christian  morality  productive  of  such 
mortal  grandeur,  asserting  that  it  is  not  really  a 
thing  divine,  but  rather  a  kind  of  philosophy.^ 
Tertullian  takes  occasion  to  mark  the  sharp  antag- 
onism between  the  Christian  and  the  Philosopher: 
*'The  truth  which  the  philosophers,  these  mockers 
and  corrupters  of  it  with  hostile  ends,  merely  effect 
to  hold,  and  in  doing  so  deprave,  caring  naught  for 
but  glory.  Christians  both  intimately  and  sincerely 
long  to  maintain  in  its  integrity,  as  those  who  have 
a  real  concern  for  salvation."'  There  is  no  Christian 
workman  who  does  not  know  more  about  God  than 
Plato  himself.^  As  to  chastity,  humility,  temperance, 
equanimity,  trustworthiness  and  sincerety,  these 
virtues  exist  in  the  Christian,  not  in  the  philosopher.*^ 

^  Apol.  40.         ^  Apol.  43.       ^  Apol.  44.         •*  Apol.  45. 
sApol.45.     6  Apol. 46.     Mbid.id.     «  Ibid. id.      ^  ibid.  id. 


6o  TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

"Where  is  there  any  likeness  between  the  Christian 
and  the  Philosopher?  between  the  disciple  of  Greece 
and  of  heaven?  between  the  man  whose  object  is 
fame  and  the  man  whose  object  is  life?  between  the 
talker  and  the  doer?  between  the  man  who  builds 
up  and  the  man  who  pulls  down?  between  the  foe 
and  the  friend  of  truth?  between  one  who  corrupts 
the  truth  and  one  who  restores  it  and  teaches  it?"' 
Indeed  the  pride  of  the  philosophers  and  their 
desire  to  ignore  beyond  the  boundaries  that  God  had 
set,  had  made  them  corrupt  the  truth:  "If  the  truth 
was  distinguished  by  its  simplicity,  the  more  on  that 
account  the  fastidiousness  of  man  too  proud  to 
believe,  set  to  altering  it,  so  that  even  what  they 
found  certain,  they  made  uncertain  by  their 
admixtures."^  As  a  consequence  of  the  fact  that 
they  do  not  hold  the  truth  in  its  integrity  they  are 
left  unmolested.  This  consideration  d  aws  from 
Tertullian  the  proud  declaration:  "Let  things 
which  are  the  defence  of  virtue,  if  you  will,  have  no 
foundation  and  give  them  duly  the  name  of  fancy, 
yet  still  they  are  necessary:  let  them  be  absurd,  if 
you  will,  yet  they  are  of  use;  they  make  all  who 
believe  better  men  and  women. "^ 

The  moral  superiority  of  the  Christian  soul  over  the 
pagan  soul  is  shown  in  the  former  attitude  before 
death:  "It  conquers  while  dying  and  goes  forth 
victorious  at  the  very  time  that  it  is  subdued." 
Cruelty,  however  exquisite,  avails  the  pagans 
nothing.  The  oftener  the  Christians  are  mowed 
down,  the  more  they  grow  in  number:  "the  blood 
of  Christians  is  a  seed."^  The  very  courage  and  obsti- 
nacy of  the  Christians  in  presence  of  the  most  cruel 

^    Ibid.  id.  ^  Apol.  47.  ^  Apol.  49.  "<  Apol.  50. 


TERTULLIAN   AND   HKS  APOLOGETICS  6i 

torments  is  a  fact  that  reveals  the  latent  virtue  of 
Christian  truth:  "Who  that  contemplates  it  is 
not  excited  to  inquire  what  is  at  the  bottom  of  it? 
Who  after  inquiry  does  not  embrace  our  doctrine? 
As  the  human  and  the  divine  are  ever  opposed  to 
each  other,  when  we  are  condemned  by  you,  we  are 
acquitted  by  the   Highest."' 

Thus  the  work  closes  with  a  shout  of  victory  in 
the  name  of  Christian  truth,  itself  a  convincing 
appeal  to  the  soul  freed  from  the  corruption  of  the 
surrounding  life  and  no  longer  the  slave  to  prejudices, 
an  appeal  to  the  soul  naturally  Christian  to  search 
after  the  truth,  and  to  find  in  the  ideas  and  facts  of 
Christianity  the  truth  which,  once  found,  must  be 
revered  and  obeyed. 

In  these  succesive  steps  of  Tertullian's  Apolo- 
getics, the  appeal  to  the  soul  is  rather  indirect. 
The  soul  is  brought  face  to  face  with  some  outward 
facts  and  bidden  to  decide  for  itself  where  the  truth 
lay.  Something  further  was  implied  in  Tertullian's 
leading  idea:  he  planned  to  go  straight  to  the  soul 
in  its  simplicity  and  candor  without  any  interme- 
diary, and  to  wrest  from  it  the  truths  which  are 
inborn  in  it.  It  is  a  testimony  which  in  his  mind  is 
higher  and  nobler  than  any  other  testimony:  "I 
call  in  a  new  testimony,  yea,  one  which  is  better 
known  than  all  publications,  greater  than  the  whole 
man,  I  mean  all  which  is  man's. "^    The  soul  of  man 

'  Ibid,  id.:  "Ut  est  aemulatio  divinae  rei  et  humanae, 
cum  damnamur  a  vobis,  a  Deo  absolvimur." 

'  "Novum  testimonium  advoco,  immo  omni  literatura 
notius,  omni  doctrina  agitatius,  omni  editione  vulgatius, 
toto  homine  maius,  id  est  totum  quod  est  hominis." 


62  TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

is  thus  summoned  to  a  tribunal  where  the  whole 
world  can  hear  its  testimony.  The  scene  is  pregnant 
with  pathos  and  dramatic  interest:     "Stand  forth, 

0  soul  whether  thou  art  a  divine  or  eternal  sub- 
stance or  whether  thou  art  the  very  opposite  of 
divine;  whether  thou  art  received  from  heaven  or 
spring  from  earth;  from  whatever  source  and  in 
whatever  way,  thou  makest  man  a  rational  being, 
and  in  the  highest  degree  capable  of  thought  and 
knowledge,  stand  forth  and  give  thy  witness."^ 
The  author  warns  that  soul  that  it  must  be  itself, 
pure  and  simple,  free  from  all  influences  from  out- 
side: "But  I  call  thee  not  as  when  fashioned  in 
schools,  trained  in  libraries,  fed  in  Attic  wisdom 
and  porticoes,  thou  belchest  wisdom.  I  address  thee 
simple,  rude  uncultured  and  untaught,  such  as  they 
have  they  who  have  thee  only,  that  very  thing  of 
the  roadr  of  the  street  and  the  workshop  wholly .... 

1  want  thine  inexperience  since  in  thy  small  experi- 
ence no  one  feels  any  confidence.'  ^  This  soul,  the 
soul  of  man  and  of  mankind,  the  soul  of  the  Pagan 
as  well  as  of  the  Christian  solemnly  affirms  that 
God  exists,  that  He  is  One,  that  He  sees  all,  that  He 
is  good  and  just,  that  there  are  evil  spirits. ^ 
Questioned  about  its  destinies,  it  unhesitatingly 
declares  that  it  is  immortal  and  it  will  survive  the 
body.  It  yearns  to  live  beyond  this  life  in  the  memory 
of   men. 4 

When  he  has  drawn  all  these  testimonies  from  the 
soul,  Tertullian  would  have  us  put  our  whole-hearted 
confidence  in  them,  for  they  are  as  simple  as  true, 

'   De  Test.  an.   i,. 

'  Ibid.  id. 

^   De  Testim.  an.   i,  2,  3,  4.  ''  Ibid.  id. 


TERTULLIAN   AND   HIS   APOLOGETICS  63 

commonplace  as  simple,  universal  as  commonplace, 
natural  as  universal,  divine  as  natural;'  they  arc 
of  all  times,  of  all  climes  and  of  all  circumstances. 
They  come  from  God,  the  Master  of  the  natural 
order  and  the  teacher  of  the  supernatural  soul/ 
He  calls  the  soul  "the  disciple  of  God  who  knows 
how  to  sing  the  marvels  revealed  by  God  to  His 
own  people;"^  he  calls  it  the  "infallible  voice  of 
nature,  a  power  older  than  speech,  as  speech  is  older 
than  literature,  as  thought  is  older  than  style  and 
man   is   older   than   the   philosopher."'' 

The  book  closes  with  an  appeal  to  the  soul  thus 
enlightened  to  be  true  to  its  knowledge,  to  heed  that 
inward  voice  above  the  din  of  prejudice  and  passion: 
"Most  justly  then  every  soul  is  a  culprit  as  well  as 
a  witness  and  in  the  measure  that  it  testifies  to  the 
truth,  the  guilt  of  error  lies  on  it/'s  His  last  word  to 
the  pagan  soul  to  whom  the  truth  has  been  shown 
to  lie  within  itself  and  outside  of  itself  is  a  threat: 
"On  the  last  da}'  of  judgment,  it  will  stand  before 
the  court  of  heaven  without  a  word  to  say.  Thou 
hast  a  savor  of  Christianity  and  withal  thou  wert 
the  persecutor  of  the  Christians."^  No  appeal  could 
be  more  direct,  no  apologetics  fraught  with  more 
convincing  elements. 

'  "  Haec  testimonia  animae  quanto  vera,  tanto  simplicia; 
quanto  simplicia,  tanto  vulgaria;  quanto  vulgaria.  tanto 
communia;  quanto  communia,  tanto  naturalia ;  quanto 
naturalia,  tanto  divina."    De  Testim.  an.  5.  '   Ibid.   id. 

^  Ibid,  id.:  "A  Deo  data  eadem  canit  quae  Deus  suis 
dedit   nosse." 

•^  Ibid,  id.:  "  Certe  prior  anima  quam  littera,  et  prior 
sermo  quam  liber,  et  prior  sensus  quam  stilus,  et  prior  homo 
ipse  quam  philosophus  et  poeta." 

^   De  Testim.  an.  6.  ^   De  Testim.    An.   6. 


64  TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  'APOLOGETICS 


CHAPTER  V. 

HIS   APOLOGETICS   AGAINST    HERETICS. 

Summary — Christian  truth  persecuted  by  heretics;  proper 
attitude  of  Christians  towards  the  truth  must  be  taught. — 

I.  The  truth  in  its  fountain-head:  the  "regula  fidei"; 
its  origin;  its  formula;  contrary  interpretations  by  the 
faithful    and    heretics;     appeal    of    heretics    to    Scripture. — 

II.  The  truth  in  its  transmission:  from  Christ  to  the  Apostles 
from  the  Apostles  to  the  Apostolic  Churches;  from  the 
jatter  to  our  day;  objections  of  heretics  exposed  and  an- 
swered.— III.  The  truth  in  its  actual  state  to  be  tested  by 
certain  criteria:  antiquity;  immutability;  unity;  purity'.— 
Strength  of  the  argument  of  prescription. 

About  the  year  200,  a  persecution  more  severe 
than  any  previous  one  was  afflicting  the  Christian 
Church.^  While  the  illegal  cruelty  of  the  pagans 
had  made  martyrs,  the  wiles  of  the  heretics  was 
productive  rather  of  apostates.^  Many  were  the 
victims:  today  a  bishop,  to-morrow  a  deacon  or 
a  widow  or  a  doctor,  or  even  a  martyr.^  It  enervated 
the  faith  when  it  did  not  destroy  it.  Tertullian 
whose  zeal  was  well  known  and  had  already  been 

^  On  Gnosticism :  Harnack,  Zur  Quellenkritik  des  Gnos- 
ticismus  (1873);  Kunze,  De  historiae  Gnosticismi  fontibus 
(1894);    Monceaux,  op.  cit.  p.  303. 

^  Praesc.   i. 

^  Ibid.  3:  "Quid  ergo?  Si  episcopus,  si  diaconus,  si 
vidua,  si  virgo,  si  doctor,  si  etiam  martyr  lapsus  a  regula 
fuit.  .  .  ?" 


TERTULLIAN  AND   HIvS  APOLOGETICS  65 

tried  in  the  defence  of  truth,  could  not  but  spring 
to  the  combat  and  make  an  onslaught  against  these 
new  enemies  of  his  faith. 

His  view  of  the  situation  was  clear  and  suggestive 
of  the  remedies.  In  his  opinion  the  cause  of  this 
great  upheaval  against  the  faith  was  due  to  curiosity, 
the  mother  of  heresies.  "There  is  some  one  and 
therefore  definite  thing  taught  by  Christ,  which 
the  Gentiles  are  by  all  means  bound  to  believe,  and 
for  that  purpose,  to  seek,  in  order  that  they  may 
be  able,  when  they  have  found  it,  to  believe.  How- 
ever there  can  be  no  indefinite  seeking  for  that 
which  has  been  taught  as  one  only  definite  thing. 
You  must  seek  until  you  find  and  believe  when  you 
have  found;  nor  have  you  anything  further  to  do 
but  to  keep  what  you  have  believed,  provided  you 
believe  this  besides,  that  nothing  else  is  to  be  believed, 
and  therefore  nothing  else  is  to  be  sought,  after  vou 
have  found  and  believed  w^hat  has  been  taught  by 
Him  who  charges  you  to  seek  no  other  thing  than 
that  which  He  has  taught."^  This  is  why  the  Christian 
attitude  of  mind  should  not  be  one  of  curiosity  and 
this  is  why  the  Christian  should  wish  to  know  but 
few  things,  since  things  certain  are  few  in  number. - 
He  should  rest  satisfied  with  the  truth  which  God 
has  revealed  to  men.  What  God  did  not  reveal,  he 
ought  to  deem  it  wise  not  to  know  and  he  should 
loathe  that  empty  knowledge  which  the  world 
patronizes  and  should  love  that  ignorance  which 
the  divine  law  demands.  To  know  nothing  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  rule  of  faith  is  to  know  all  things.^ 

Quite  contrary  are  the  dispositions  of  the  heretics. 


^   Praesc.  9.  ^  An. 

^   Praesc.   14:    "Nihil  ultra  scire,  omnia  scire." 


-7 


66  TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS 

They  have  chosen  the  philosophers  as  their  models 
rather  than  their  Christian  brethren.^  From  this 
source  came  the  Aeons  and  I  do  not  know  what 
infinite  forms  and  the  trinity  of  m.an  in  the  system 
of  Valentuus,  who  was  of  Plato's  school.  From  the 
same  source  came  Marcion's  better  god  with  all  his 
tranquiiit}^ ;  he  cam-e  of  the  Stoics.  Then  again 
the  opinion  that  the  soul  dies  is  held  by  the ,  Epi- 
cureans, while  the  denial  of  the  restoration  of  the 
body  is  taken  from  the  aggregate  schools  of  all  the 
Philosophers;  also  when  matter  is  made  equal  to 
God,  then  you  have  the  teaching  of  Zeno;  and  when 
any  doctrine  is  alleged  concerning  a  God  of  fire, 
then  Heraclitus  comes.  The  same  subject  matter 
is  discussed  over  and  over  again  by  the  heretics 
and  the  philosophers:  the  same  arguments  are 
involved.  These  are  the  doctrines  of  men  and  of 
demons,  produced  for  itching  ears  of  the  spirit  of 
this  world's  wisdom. "^ 

The  outcome  of  all  this  speculation  about  revealed 
data  is  very  sad.  Human  wisdom,  while  it  pretends 
to  know  the  truth,  only  corrupts  it  and  is  itself 
divided  into  manifold  heresies,  by  the  variety  of 
its  mutually  repugnant  sects. ^  The  heretics  are 
punished  for  having  violated  that  most  fundamental 
law:  "Amplius  quaerere  non  licet,  quod  inveniri 
non  licet. "4 

The  mJnds  of  the  Christians,  therefore,  must  be 
kept  away  from  this  danger,  must  be  taught  the 
true  attitude  toward  revealed  truth.  As  the  starting 
point  in  this  task,  Tertullian  gives  at  length  the 
formula  of  the  rule  of  faith;  that  formula  "taught 
by  Christ,  which  raises  no  other  questions  than  those 

^   Praesc.    lo.       ^  Praesc.  7.       ^  Praesc.   7.       ^   Praesc.  7. 


TKRTULIJAN   AND    HIS  AP0L0G1<:TICS  67 

which  heresies  introduce  and  which  make  men 
heretics."^  So  long  as  this  rule  of  faith  exists  in  its 
proper  order,  the  Christian  may  seek  and  discuss 
to  his  heart's  content  and  give  full  rein  to  his 
curiosity,  in  whatever  is  doubtful  or  seems  to  be 
shrouded  in  obscurity.^  No  doubt  he  will  find 
at  hand  some  learned  brother,  gifted  with  the  grace 
of  knowledge,  some  one  of  the  experienced  class, 
though  it  is  better  to  remain  in  ignorance,  lest  he 
should  com.e  to  know  what  he  ought  not,  because  he 
had  acquired  the  knowledge  of  what  he  ought  not 
to  know.'  "Faith  has  been  deposited  in  a  rule;  it 
has  its  law  and  salvation  in  the  observance  of  this 
rule."''  There  the  Christian  finds  what  he  is  to 
believe  and  what  he  is  to  do.  After  that,  if  even  an 
angel  cam.e  down  from  heaven  to  preach  another 
Gospel,  he  should  be  accursed. ^ 

The  rule  of  faith  is  given  by  Christ;  which,  having 
found,  the  Christian  must  accept  and  obey  without 
any  further  curiosity.^  But  how  is  one  to  acquire 
the  certitude  of  the  heavenly  origin  of  a  belief  which 
is  submitted  to  his  assent? 

The  method  followed  by  the  heretics  in  this 
matter  is  the  outgrowth  of  their  perverse  curiosity. 
They  take  up  the  Scriptures  and,  by  a  series  of 
skilful  manoeuvers  against  their  true  meaning,  seduce 
many  to  their  false  doctrines. ^  The  discussion  with 
heretics  on  Scriptural  ground  is  very  dangerous  and 

« 

^   Praesc.  13.     •  ^   Praesc.  14.  ^   Praesc.  14. 

'^   Praesc.  14.     "Fides   in   regula    posita   est,    habet  legem, 
et  salutem  de  observatione  legis." 

^   Praesc.  6.  ^  Praesc.  13. 

'  Praesc.  15:     "Scripturas  obtendunt,  et  hac  sua  audacia 
statim  qiiosdam   movent." 


68  TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOIvOGETICS 

rarely  useful.  Some  books  they  accept,  others  they 
reject.  Those  they  receive  they  make  to  fit  in  with 
their  system  by  liberal  additions  and  suppressions. 
If  they  leave  the  text  stand  as  it  is,  at  least  they 
falsify  it  by  many  different  interpretations.  In 
their  frivolous  conjectures  they  are  naturally  loath 
to  acknowledge  the  true  meaning  of  the  passages 
which  condemn  them.  They  put  their  trust  in  those 
Avhich  they  have  selected  and  falsely  put  together 
because  of  their  ambiguity.  Any  one  who  attempts 
to  discuss  with  them  will  make  no  progress  what- 
soever, for  everything  which  he  maintains  is  denied 
by  the  other  side  and  whatever  he  denies  is  main- 
tained. Indeed,  he  will  waste  his  breath  in  the 
dispute  and  gain  nothing  but  vexation  from  hearing 
the  blasphemies  of  the  heretics.^ 

The  appeal  for  a  criterion  of  certitude  is  therefore 
not  to  be  made  to  the  Scriptures.  There  the  victory 
is  either  impossible  or  uncertain  or  at  least  not  certain 
enough. 2  Certitude  will  be  found  rather  in  the  answer 
to  these  questions :  What  is  the  origin  of  the  Christian 
doctrine?  Through  whom  has  it  been  transmitted? 
To  whom  confided?  and  how  has  it  reached  us  at 
the  present  time^  For  whenever  it  shall  be  manifested 
where  the  Christian  rule  of  faith  is,  there  will  like- 
wise be  the  true  Scriptures,  the  true  exposition 
thereof  and  all  the  Christian  tradition. 

The  source  of  Christian  doctrine  is  no  other  than 
Our  Lord  Jesus  Himself,  who  received  it  from  His 

^  Praesc.  i6:  "Nihil  proficit  congressio  scripturarum 
nisi  plane  ut  aiit  stomachi  quis  ineat  eversionem  aut  cerebri.' 

^  Praesc.  19:  "Nee  in  his  constituendum  certamen  in 
quibus  aut  nulla  aut  incerta  victoria  est  aut  parum  certa." 


TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETlCvS  69 

heavenly  Father.'  While  He  was  on  earth,  He 
explained  the  whole  faith  either  to  the  whole  people 
in  public  or  in  private  conversations  to  His  disciples 
gathered  around  Him.-.  Out  of  these  disciples  He 
selected  twelve  whom  He  wished  to  live  in  His 
intimacy  so  as  to  prepare  them  to  be  the  teachers 
of  the  world.  These  Apostles,  as  they  were  called, 
scattered  through  the  nations,  preaching  a  doctrine 
which  was  everywhere  the  same  and  founding 
churches  in  the  cities.  From  these  Churches,  the 
plant  of  faith  and  the  seed  of  doctrine  were  grafted 
on  and  sown  into  the  new  Churches  which  were 
founded  later  and  which  are  still  being  founded  every 
day. 3 

Thus  these  other  Churches  are  themselves  looked 
upon  as  apostolic  since  they  are  the  daughters  of 
apostolic  churches.  A  common  origin  necessarily 
implies  a  principle  of  unity.  All  the  churches  which 
arose  from  the  primitive  churches,  however  large 
or  numerous,  they  may  be,  are  one  and  the  same 
church.  All  Churches  are  therefore  apostolic,  as 
long  at  least  as  they  preserve  the  bond  of  unity, 
that  is,  as  long  as  they  send  to  each  other  greetings 
of  peace,  call  each  other  sister  and  practice  towards 
each  other  the  duties  of  hospitality — all  of  which 
duties  are  a  necessary  consequence  of  unity  of 
doctrine.^ 

These  principles  are  pregnant  with  momentous 
corollaries.  Since  Our  Lord  sent  the  Apostles  alone 
to    preach    the    faith,    other    preachers    than    those 

^  Praesc.   20.     ^   Praesc.   20.     ^   Praesc.   20. 

"•  Praesc.  20:  "Sic  omnes  primae  et  omnes  apostolicae, 
dum  una  omnes  probant  unitatem  communicatio  pacis  et 
appellatio   fraternitatis  et  contesseratio  hospitalitatis." 


70  TERTULUAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

instituted  by  Christ  are  not  to  be  given  a  hearing/ 
Indeed  the  Father  is  known  only  to  the  Son  and  to 
those  to  whom  that  knowledge  was  revealed.^  Nor 
has  Christ  communicated  this  revelation  to  others 
than  to  the  Apostles  since  to  them  and  to  no  others 
was  entrusted  the  mission  of  preaching  what  had 
been  revealed.^ 

Moreover,  in  order  to  find  out  what  the  Apostles 
preached  or,  what  amounts  to  the  same  thing,  what 
Christ  revealed  to  them,  there  is  no  other  means 
than  to  turn  to  the  churches  founded  by  the 
Apostles,  taught  by  them  first  through  the  living 
voice  and  later  through  their  letters/  It  is  evident, 
therefore,  that  any  doctrine  born  of  the  apostolic 
churches  which  are  the  actual  m_ain springs  of  truth 
is  conformable  to  the  truth/  It  consists  of  what 
the  Churches  received  from  the  Apostles,  of  what 
the  Apostles  received  from  Christ,  and  what  Christ 
received  from  God.^  On  the  contrary,  suspected  of 
deception  must  be  any  doctrine  which  goes  against 
the  truth  received  from  the  Churches,  the  Apostles, 
Christ  and  God/  "We  communicate  with  the 
Apostolic   Churches  because   our   doctrine  differs  in 

^   Praesc.   21.  ^  Preasc.   21.  ^  Praesc.   21. 

^  Praesc.  21:  "Quid  autem  praedicaverint,  id  est,  quid 
illis  Christus  revelaverit,  et  his  praescribam  non  aliter 
probari  debere  nisi  per  easdem  ecclesias  quas  ipsi  apostoli 
condiderunt,  ipsi  eis  praedicando  tarn  viva  voce  quam  per 
epistulas  postea." 

^  Praesc.  21. 

^  Praesc.  21:  ''Constat  proinde  omnem  doctrinam  quae 
cum  illis  ecclesiis  apostolicis  matricibus  et  originalibus 
^dei  conspiret  veritati  deputandam,  id  sine  dubio  tenetem, 
quod  Ecclesiae  ab  Apostolis,  Apostoli  a  Christo,  Christus 
a  Deo  accepit."  ^   Praesc.  21: 


TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETlCvS  71 

no  way  from  theirs:  that  is  the  criterion  of  truth. "^ 
The  heretics  object  to  this  that  the  Apostles  may 
not  have  known  the  truth  in  its  entirety;  or 
that,  having  known  it,  they  may  have  commun- 
icated only  part  of  it  to  the  churches  and  dispensed 
to  a  few  an  esoteric  doctrine;  or  thirdly,  that  the 
Churches  did  not  transmit  in  its  integrity  and  purity 
the  deposit  committed  to  their  care.^ 

The  first  two  objections  which  are  contradictory 
of  each  other,  accuse  Christ  of  having  sent  out 
Apostles  either  too  ignorant  or  of  too  subtle  mind. 
Who  can  reasonably  accuse  of  ignorance  on  any 
question  of  doctrine  those  whom  Christ  established 
as  teachers,  who  were  His  life  com.panions,  His  dis- 
ciples, and  His  bosom  friends,  they  to  whom  He 
explained  in  private  all  obscurities,  telling  them 
that  to  them  was  granted  to  know  secrets  which 
the  people  could  not  know.^ 

It  is  equally  absurd  to  suppose  that  the  Apostles 
held  back  any  thing  of  their  deposit,  that  they 
ga\-e  out  certain  teaching  in  public  and  confided 
other  truths  to  a  few  close  friends.  The  texts  upon 
which  the  heretics  base  such  a  claim  merely  purpose 
to  warn  the  faithful  against  false  Apostles.  Christ 
in  fact  preached  the  Gospel  openly  and  commanded 
His  Apostles  to  preach  it  in  broad  day-light  and  to 
proclaimi  it  from  the  house-tops,  and  this  command 
the  Apostles  certainly  obeyed.  They  preached  to 
the  world  the  same  faith;  they  did  not  present  one 
God  and  one  Christ  for  the  Church  at  large  and 
another  God  and  another  Christ  for  a  favored  few." 

^   Praesc.  21:    "  Communicamus  cum  Ecclesiis   Apostolicis 
quod  nulla  doctrina  diversa:    hoc  est  testimonium  veritatis." 
^  Praesc  22.  ^  Praesc.  22.  ''  Praesc.  23,  sq. 


72  TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

The  insinuation  that  the  Churches  falsified  the 
doctrine  in  transmitting  it,  is  Hkewise  without 
foundation.^  Some  churches  it  is  true,  are  known 
to  have  been  imperfect  in  their  faith, ^  but  on  the 
other  hand  others  are  found  worthy  to  be  praised 
by  the  Apostles.^  If  both  these  classes  of  churches 
go  hand  in  hand,  must  we  not  conclude  that  these 
imperfections  later  disappeared?  Moreover,  how- 
can  one  explain  the  agreement  of  all  the  churches 
in  the  same  error  ?4  The  concord  of  all  these  churches 
in  the  same  belief  bespeaks  a  primitive  tradition: 
"Error  of  doctrine  in  the  churches  must  necessarily 
have  produced  various  issues.  When,  however,  that 
which  is  deposited  among  us  is  found  to  be  one  and 
the  same,  it  is  not  the  result  of  error  but  of 
tradition.  "5 

There  can  be,  therefore,  no  doubt  as  to  the  purity 
and  integrity  of  the  teaching  of  the  Apostles  and 
the  faithfulness  of  the  churches  in  keeping  whole 
and  untouched  the  deposit  of  faith  that  was  handed 
down  to  them  by  the  messengers  of  Christ. 

This  question  naturally  occurs  to  every  mind: 
granting  that  Apostolicity  is  true  in  principle,  how 
about  its  application  to  the  present  case?  How 
can  it  become  certain  that  the  actual  Church  with 
its  body  of  doctrine,  its  system  of  morality  and  its 
wonderful  organization  is  the  identical  Church 
which  Christ  gave  to  the  Apostles  and  which  the 
Apostles  founded,   and  by  what  standard   may  the 


^  Praesc.  27     ^  Praesc.  27.       ^  Praesc.  27.       '^  Praesc.  28. 

5  Praesc.  28:  "acquid  verisimile  est  ut  tot  ac  tantae  in 
unam  fidem  erraverint.  Nullus  inter  multos  eventus  unus 
est  exitus;     variasse  debuerat  error  doctrinae  ecclesiarum." 


TERTULUAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGKTICS  73 

present   be   gauged,    in    relation    to   the   past    which 
made   it? 

The  first  mark  that  the  present  Church  is  the  one 
given  by  Christ  to  His  Apostles  and  transmitted 
by  them  to  the  other  churches  is  foimd  in  her  an- 
tiquity. In  all  cases  truth  precedes  its  counterfeit, 
the  likeness  succeeds  the  reality.^  In  Our  Lord's 
parable,  the  good  seed  was  sowed  first.  It  is  only 
later  that  the  crop  was  spoiled  by  the  demon  with 
the  useless  weed  of  wild  oats.  It  is  clear  that  that 
which  was  delivered  first  is  of  the  Lord  and  is  true, 
while  that  is  strange  and  false  which  was  afterwards 
introduced.^  In  the  history  of  recent  heresies,  Ter- 
tullian  finds  ready  examples  of  the  application  of 
this  principle.  "At  the  time  of  the  preachin.;  of 
truth  by  Christ,  where  was  Marcion,  that  ship- 
master of  Pontus,  the  zealous  student  of  Stoicism? 
Where  was  Valentinus,  the  disciple  of  Platonism?  It 
is  well  known  that  they  were  first  believers  in  the 
Catholic  doctrine  in  the  Church  of  Rome,  under  the 
episcopate  of  the  blessed  Eleutherus  until  on  account 
of  their  restless  curiosity,  they  were  more  than 
once  expelled.  The  same  is  true  of  Marcion,  Apelles, 
Nigidius  and  Hermogenes  who  are  still  alive  and 
still  pursuing  their  course  of  perversion  of  the  ways 
of  the  Lord. "3  Error  is  born  of  truth  as  the  rough 
wild  olive  rises  from  the  germ  of  the  fruitful,  rich 
and   genuine   olive. -^     In   the   priority   of   truth    over 


^   Praesc.    29:     "In  omnibus   Veritas  imaginem  antecredit : 
post  vero  similitude  succedit." 

^   Praesc.  29.  ^   Praesc.  30. 

•*   Praesc.    30:     "  Ita    et   haereses    de    nostro   fructice,    non 
nostro  de  genere,  veritatis  grano,  sed  mendacio  silvestres." 


74  TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

error,  we  find  a  test  at  the  very  moment  of  its 
appearance.^ 

Another  criterion  guarantees  that  the  truth  thus 
born  before  error  has  remained  what  it  was  in  its 
original  state  when  it  fell  from  the  lips  of  Christ, 
viz,  an  apostolic  Episcopate.  To  certain  heresies 
which  claimed  an  apostolic  episcopate,  we  say: 
"Make  us  know  the  origin  of  your  episcopate. 
Unroll  before  us  the  list  of  your  Bishops.  Prove 
that  the  Bishop  who  heads  the  list  was  placed  there 
either  by  an  Apostle,  or  by  an  Apostolic  man  who 
remained  in  communion  with  the  Apostles  or  that 
he  is  the  successor  of  one  of  these.  Thus  the  Apostolic 
churches  prove  their  apostolicity.  The  Church  of 
Smyrna  brings  forth  Polycarp  instituted  by  John; 
the  Church  of  Rome  proves  that  Clement  was  placed 
at  its  head  by  Peter;  the  other  Churches  show  in 
their  beginning  men  who  received  the  episcopate 
from  the  Apostles  who  thus  handed  them  the 
Apostolic  succession.  Let  the  heretical  churches 
dare  to  submit  themselves  to  the  same  test.  Their 
attempts  would  end  in  disgraceful  failure.  The 
absence  of  an  Apostolic  Episcopte  is  a  supreme  mark 
of  error.  Every  doctrine  must  be  rejected  as  false 
which  has  not  been  transmitted  by  the  Apostles 
and  it  may  be  concluded  that  a  doctrine  does  not 
come  from  the  Apostles,  when  the  sect  which  teaches 
it  is  not  governed  by  an  Apostolic  Bishop.^ 

Lastly,    as   truth   is   found   located   somewhere   in 

^  Preasc.  31:  "Ita  ex  ipso  ordine  manifestatur,  id  esse 
dominicum  et  verum  quod  sit  prius  traditum  id  autem 
extraneum  et  falsum  quod  sit  posterius  immissum." 

^  Praesc.  35:  "Apostolis  utique  (nostra  doctrina)  non 
damnatur,  immo  defenditur:    hoc  erit  indicium  proprietatis." 


TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS  75 

space,  a  third  mark  of  its  existence  is  the  agreement 
of  a  given  teaching  with  the  teaching  of  the  Apostolic 
Churches.  There  are  certain  Churches  in  which 
the  pulpit  occupied  by  the  Apostles  is  still  held 
in  great  honor.  There  are  churches  which  have  read 
in  the  original  the  letters  by  which  the  Apostles 
honored  them  of  old.'  The  voice  of  these  holy  men 
is  thus  heard  in  those  churches  as  an  echo  and  their 
portrait  is  thus  placed,  as  it  were,  before  the  eyes 
of  the  faithful.  Such  are  Corinth,  Philippi,  Thes- 
salonica,  Hphesus^  and  lastly  Rome.  "Happy 
Church  to  whom  the  Apostles  handed  down  with 
their  blood  the  fulness  of  the  truth,  in  which  Peter 
suffered  torments  like  those  of  Our  Lord;  in  which 
Paul  received  the  same  crow^n  as  John  the  Baptist, 
in  which  John  was  condemned  to  boiling  oil  and  came 
out  of  it  unscathed.  See  what  she  has  learned, 
what  taught,  what  fellowship  she  has  had  even 
with  our  churches  in  Africa.  One  Lord  God  does 
she  acknowledge  the  Creator  of  the  Universe,  and 
Christ  Jesus  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  the  Son  of 
God  the  Creator;  and  the  resurrection  of  the  flesh; 
the  law  and  the  prophets  she  united  in  one  volume 
with  the  writings  of  evangelists  and  apostles,  from 
which  she  drinks  in  her  faith.  This  she  seals  with 
the  water  of  baptism,  arrays  with  the  Holy  Ghost, 
feeds  with  the  Eucharist,  cheers  with  martyrdom 
and  against  such  a  discipline  thus  maintained  she 
admits  no  gainsayer."^  Heresies  are  not  of  this 
Church  since  they  are  opposed  to  her.  Consequently, 
any  doctrine  in  any  way  in  disagreement  with  the 

'   Praesc.  36.  ^  Praesc.  36. 

^   Praescr.   36:     "  Habes  Romam  unde   nobis  quoque   auc- 
toritas  praesto  est.     1st  aquam  felix  ecclesia." 


76  TERTULUAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS 

doctrines  held  in  honor  by  these  Apostolic  Churches 
and  especially  by  the  Church  of  Rome  which  Ter- 
tullian  regards  as  having  a  sort  of  primacy,  must 
be  rejected  as  heresy.^ 

A  fourth  criterion  of  truth  is  found  in  the  neces- 
sary relation  of  moral  with  dogma.  The  quality 
can  be  appreciated  from  the  kind  of  life,  and  conduct 
is  a  sure  criterion  of  truth. ^  The  heretics  deny  that 
God  should  be  feared:  in  consequence,  everything 
with  them  is  free  and  without  rule.^  Where  is  God 
not  to  be  feared,  except  where  He  is  not?  And  where 
He  is  not,  there  is  no  truth.  Where  the  truth  is 
not,  one  finds  the  kind  of  life  that  they  lead.  Indeed 
their  conduct  is  singularly  frivolous,  earthly,  purely 
without  gravity,  without  authority,  without  dis- 
cipline and  quite  in  harmony  with  their  faith.'* 
They  admit  any  one  to  their  meetings,  give  the 
"Pax"  to  all  indiscriminately.  Catechumens  are 
received  into  their  churches  without  fitting  prepara- 
tion. Orders  are  conferred  indiscriminately  and 
without  observance  of  the  canons.  Their  preaching 
is  directed  not  to  the  conversion  of  pagans  but  to 
the  perversion  of  Christians.  They  respect  not 
even  their  own  superiors.  They  frequent  magicians, 
mountebanks,  astrologers  and  philosophers,  and  the 
reason  is  that  they  are  men  who  devote  themselves 
to  curious  investigation. 5 

^  Preasc.  37:  "Ego  sum  haeres  Apostolorum.  Sicut 
caverunt  testamento  suo,  sicut  fidei  commiserunt,  sicut 
adiuraverunt,  ita  teneo." 

^  Praesc.  43:  "Adeo  et  de  genere  conversationis  qualitas 
fidei  aestimari  potest:     doctrinae  index  disciplina  est." 

•^  Praesc.  43:  "Haeretici  negant  Deum  timendum:  itaque 
libera  sunt  illis  omnia  et  soluta." 

^   Preasc.  42.  s  Praesc.  43. 


TERTULLIAN   AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS  77 

On  the  contrary,  where  God  is,  there  is  found  the 
fear  of  God,  which  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom; 
and  where  there  is  the  fear  of  God,  there  also  dwell 
gravity,  honesty,  simplicity,  an  anxious  carefulness 
in  admitting  to  the  sacred  ministry,  a  safely-guarded 
communion  and  promotion  after  good  service,  a 
scrupulous  submission  to  authority,  and  a  modest 
demeanor,  a  united  church  and  God  in  all  things.^ 

Such  are  the  general  trend  and  the  most  important 
details  of  the  well  known  argument,  usually  termed 
the  "argument  of  Prescription."  It  is  meant  to 
offer  a  safe  criterion  to  discern  true  from  false 
doctrine.  The  Church  is  teaching  the  doctrine 
which  she  received  from  the  Apostles;  the  Apostles 
taught  it,  after  it  was  made  known  to  them  in  its 
integrity  and  entirety  by  Christ  Himself;  and  lastly 
Jesus  Christ  preached  it  in  the  name  of  God  the 
Father.  The  "Church"  here  means  the  true  Church, 
the  Church  which  in  every  century,  in  every  genera- 
tion and  in  every  day  is  linked  directly  and  without 
interruption  to  the  Apostles;  it  is  the  Church  that 
can  exhibit  unmistakable  titles  proving  the  genuine- 
ness of  this  filiation.  The  Apostles  here  m.ean  the 
true  Apostles,  those  chosen  officially  by  Christ, 
those  who  were  the  witnesses  of  His  life  during  three 
years,  who  were  taught  by  Him,  and  having  been 
further  enlightened  by  the  pure  light  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  were  sent  by  Him  to  teach  the  world.  Jesus 
is  the  true  Christ,  Son  of  God  and  Son  of  man,  the 
true  Messias  foretold  by  the  prophets  and  figured 
in  every  page  of  the  Old  Testament.  In  other  words, 
the  links  in  the  chain  are  these:  the  true  Church, 
or  the   Church  of  the  Apostles;    the  true  Apostles, 

^  Praesc.  44. 


78  TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

or  the  Apostles  of  Christ,  the  true  Christ,  or  Christ 
the  Son  of  God"^  Kcclesia  ab  apostolis;  apostoli 
a  Christo,  Christus  a  Deo  tradidit."^  Quoting  this 
passage  of  Tertullian,  Bossuet  can  not  hold  back 
the  expression  of  his  enthusiasm  in  presence  of  such 
beautiful  order  and  of  a  series  of  truths  so  simple 
and  so  clear:  "O  beautiful  chain,"  he  exclaims, 
"O  holy  concord,  O  divine  texture,  which  new 
doctors  have  broken."  These  new  doctors  are  the 
heretics  of  Tertullian's  time  as  well  as  of  Bossuet's 
and  of  all  times.  This  argument  will  forever  be 
their  confusion  and  will  forever  be  urged  against 
them:  "Your  Church  is  not  the  Church  of  the 
Apostles,  your  Apostles  are  not  the  Apostles  of 
Christ,  your  Christ  is  not  the  Son  of  God,  you  are 
not  of  God,  you  are  of  man." 

No  one  can  deny  the  invincible  strength  of  this 
argument.  In  order  to  feel  its  worth  and  be  ready 
to  accept  its  conclusions  with  all  their  practical 
consequences,  it  is  enough  to  be  of  good  faith,  and 
of  good  will,  and  to  listen  to  the  true  voice  of  reason, 
or  what  is  the  same,  to  the  voice  of  true  reason. 
Indeed  what  is  more  reasonable  than  for  man,  a 
being  full  cf  limitations,  to  bow  before  the  authority 
of  God  who  thus  speaks  through  Christ,  through 
His  Apostles  and  through  the  Churches  of  the 
Apostles. 

'  Praesc.  2i. 

*  Oeuvres  Oratoires,   Edit.     Lebarcq.   Vol.   Ill,   p.   235. 


TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICvS  yy 


CHAPTER  VI. 

HIS    CHANGE    OF    PRINCIPLE. 

Summary: — Nothing  to  be  added  to  the  rule  of  faith;  the 
new  prophecy  and  the  Paraclete. — I.  Tertullian's  first 
deviation  from  his  leading  idea:  exegesis  of  John  XVI.  13; 
revelation  not  complete  till  Montanus;  justification  of  his 
rigorism  in  the  new  prophecy;  private  revelations  versus 
apostolic  customs. — II.  External  steps  towards  schism; 
the  Pallium  vindicated;  the  garb  of  a  higher  religion. — 
III.  Further  steps  into  schism;  the  probative  value  of 
ecstasies;  the  new  light  clears  away  all  doubts;  the  Psychics 
and  the  Pneumatics;  denial  of  the  right  of  the  hierarchy 
to  command;  attacks  against  the  Roman  Church. — The 
destiny  of  the  Tertullianistic  sect. 

Tertullian  had  written  in  his  de  Praescriptione: 
"No  one  is  wise,  no  one  is  faithful,  no  one  excels 
in  dignity  but  the  Christian.  No  one  is  a  Christian 
but  he  who  perseveres  even  to  the  end."^  Perse- 
verance, as  he  meant  it,  consisted  in  holding  to  the 
rule  of  faith  given  by  God  to  Christ,  by  Christ  to 
his  Apostles,  by  the  Apostles  to  the  Church.  Faith 
and  the  salvation  were  in  that  rule,  which  contained 
both  dogma  and  moral. ^  Even  if  an  angel  came  down 
from  heaven  to  reveal  new  truths,  the  m.ind  of 
the  Christian  should  not  be  shaken  from  that  rule.^ 

^  "Nemo  sapiens,  nemo  fidelis,  nemo  maior,  nisi  chris- 
tianus;  nemo  autem  christianus,  nisi  qui  ad  finem  usque 
perseveraverit."     Praesc.   3. 

^   Praesc.    14.  ^   Praesc.   29. 


8o  TERTULUAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

Tertullian  ironically  defied  the  heretics  to  prove 
that  they  were  new  Apostles,  that  Christ  came 
down  from  heaven  a  second  time,  that  He  was  crucified 
and  rose  from  the  dead  once  more.^ 

About  the  sam.e  time,  the  Christian  communities 
of  Carthage  were  stirred  up  by  preachers,  whose 
teachings  were  in  sharp  contrast  with  the  doctrines 
of  the  de  Praescriptione.  Montanus,  a  Phr3^gian, 
who  had  died  a  few  years  before,  was  regarded  as 
the  master  of  the  new  sect.  He  claimed  to  have 
received  from  the  Paraclete  private  revelation,  a 
collection  of  which  was  being  circulated  by  his 
adherents.  The  Paraclete,  he  claimed,  had  revealed 
to  him  the  near  return  of  Christ  and  the  approaching 
advent  of  the  new  Jerusalem.  In  the  feverish  waiting 
for  the  last  day,  there  could  be  no  question  of  familv 
ties,  nor  of  earthly  comforts  and  interest  in  public 
afi'airs.  The  strictest  asceticism,  was  made  the 
law  of  Montanism.  Though  the  Church  had  been 
at  first  rather  tolerant,  yet  in  the  first  3'ears  of  the 
third  centur}^  one  had  to  choose  between  com- 
munion with  the  Church  and  adhesion  to  the  recent 
prophecies.^ 

The  Montanistic  tenet  which  appealed  most  to 
Tertullian  was  the  belief  in  the  new  prophecy  of  the 
Paraclete.    It  had  always  been  thus.^   The  Montanists 

^   Praesc.   30. 

^  Eusebius,  H.  E.  5,  3,  14-19;  Epiphanitis,  Haeres. 
38.  Cf.  Ermoni,  La  crise  Montaniste,  in  Revue  des  Questions 
historiques.  Vol.  72  (1902).  p.  61  sqq.;  Ales.  op.  cit.  p. 
435;    Monceaux,  op.  cit.  p.  399. 

3  According  to  St.  j^ugustine,  he  had  even  combated 
their  influence:  "Tertullianus  .  .  .  transiens  ad  Cataphrygas, 
quos  ante  destruxerat."     De   Hacrcs.    86. 


TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS  8i 

had  recourse  to  John  XVI.  1.3:  "When  He,  the 
Spirit  of  truth  is  come,  He  will  teach  you  all  truth," 
to  justify  their  confidence  in  the  new  Prophecy, 
and  upon  that  text  they  based  their  claim  that 
Christ  had  promised  the  new  revelation  to  Plis 
Church.  The  time,  they  said,  had  at  last  come 
for  this  new  revelation;  and  they  themselves  were 
the  new  prophets,  the  new  messengers  of  the 
Paraclete.  TertuUian,  who  quoted  this  text  twice 
in  the  de  Praescriptione,  each  time  gave  a  strict 
Catholic  interpretation  of  it.  Indeed,  he  could  not 
have  done  otherwise  without  upsetting  the  whole 
thesis  of  his  works.  "No  doubt,  Christ  had  once 
said,  '  I  have  yet  many  things  to  say  unto  you, 
but  ye  can  not  bear  them  nov,','  but  even  then  He 
added,  'When  the  Spirit  of  truth  shall  come.  He 
will  lead  vou  unto  all  truth.'  He  thus  shows  that 
there  is  nothing  of  which  they  were  ignorant,  to 
whom  He  had  promised  the  future  attainment  of 
all  truths  by  the  help  of  the  Spirit  of  truth;  and 
assuredly  He  fulfilled  His  promise  since  it  is  proved 
in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  that  the  Holy  Ghost 
did  come  dov/n."^  He  could  not  state  m,ore  clearly 
that  the  entire  body  of  truth  to  be  believed  had  been 
revealed,  and  that  nothing  further  should  be  added 
to  tradition. 

Six  or  seven  years  later,  hovv'evcr,  he  was  heard 
voicing  quite  a  different  opinion.  Though  he  still 
spoke  with  his  wonted  respect  and  eloquence  of  the 
immutability  of  the  rule  of  faith  and  the  union  with 
the    apostolic   churches,'    he    nevertheless   held    that 

^   Praescr.   8,   22,   28. 

^  De  Virg.  vel.  2:  "T'na  nobis  et  illis  fides,  unus  Deus, 
idem  Christus,  eadem  spes,  eadem  lavacri  sacramenta,  seinel 
dixerim:     Una  ecclesia  sumus." 


82  TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

revelation  was  not  closed  till  the  time  of  Montanus: 
"The  law  of  faith  being  constant,  the  other  succeed- 
ing points  of  discipline  and  conversation  admit  the 
novelty  of  correction.  The  reason  why  the  Lord 
sent  the  Paraclete  was,  that,  since  hum.an  m.ediocrity 
was  unable  to  take  in  all  things  at  once,  discipline 
should  little  by  little  be  directed  and  ordained  and 
carried  on  to  perfection  by  that  Vicar  of  the  Lord, 
the  Holy  vSpirit.  What,  then,  is  the  Paraclete's 
administrative  office,  but  this:  the  direction  of 
discipline,  the  revelation  of  the  vScriptures,  the 
reformation  of  the  intellect,  the  advancement  to 
better  things?  Nothing  is  without  stages  of  growth: 
all  things  have  their  season.  Look  how  creation  itself 
advances  little  b}'^  little  to  fructification.  First 
combes  the  seed,  and  from^  the  seed  rises  the  shoot 
and  from  the  shoot  struggles  out  the  shrub;  there- 
after boughs  and  leaves  gather  strength  and  the 
whole  that  Vv^e  call  a  tree  expands;  there  follows  a 
swelling  of  the  bud,  and  from  the  bud  bursts  the 
flower,  and  from  the  flower  the  fruit  opens:  that 
fruit  itself,  rude  for  a  while  and  unshapely,  little 
by  little,  keeping  the  straight  course  of  its  develop- 
ment, is  trained  to  the  m.ellowness  of  its  flavor.  So 
too,  righteousness — for  the  God  of  righteousness  and 
the  God  of  creation  is  the  same, — was  first  in  an  em^- 
bryonic  stage,  having  natural  fear  of  God;  from  that 
stage  it  advanced  through  the  Law  and  the  Prophets 
to  infancy;  from  thence  it  passed  through  the 
Gospel  to  the  fervor  of  youth;  now  through  the 
Paraclete  it  is  settling  into  maturity.  He  will  be,  after 
Christ,  the  only  one  to  be  called  and  revered  as 
Master;  for  He  speaks  not  from  Himself,  but  what 
is   commanded   by    Christ.     He   is   the   one   Prelate, 


TERTULLIAN   AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS  83 

because  He  alone  succeeds  Christ.  They  who  have 
received  Him  set  truth  befonj  custom.  They  who 
have  heard  Him  prophecy  even  to  the  present  time, 
not  of  old,  bid  virgins  to  be  wholly  covered."^  He 
could  not  have  stated  more  clearly  that  traditions, 
for  centuries  in  vogue  in  the  Church,  or  "customs" 
as  he  calls  them,  were  to  give  way  to  the  new 
revelation,  the  "truth,"  and  that  the  supreme  ruler 
of  the  Church  in  the  details  of  her  moral  system 
and  her  administration,  was  not  an  episcopate 
transmitted  by  the  Apostles  and  instituted  by 
Christ,  guardian  of  the  practice  as  well  as  of  the 
faith,  but  the  Paraclete  whose  dominion  meant  the 
maturity  of  the  Church  and  was  a  guarantee  of  the 
moral   perfection   of  her  members. 

This  principle  is  to  become  for  TertuUian  a  service- 
able justification  of  his  rigoristic  views  on  morals. 
Whatever  he  will  not  find  in  the  motherly  indulgence 
of  the  Church,  he  will  triumphantly  take  from  the 
book  of  the  new  prophecy,  or  gather  from  the  lips 
of  the  Montanistic  ecstatics.  Thus,  although  local 
customs  of  a  Church  already  declared  to  be  in 
obedience  to  an  Apostolic  Church,  permit  the 
Christian  Virgins  to  go  about  the  churches  unveiled, 
still,  since  the  vSpirit  forbade  it,  that  practice  should 
be  abandoned.^  In  a  work,  which  chronologically 
foUows  close  upon  the  De  Virginihus  velandis,  the 
authority  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  adduced  to  command 
that  Christians  marry  only  once.^  About  the  same 
time  the  reality  and  the  supernatural  character  of 
the  Montanists  ecstasies  are  vindicated:  "When 
man  is  under  the  influence  of  the  Spirit,  especially 
when  he  is  beholding  the  glory  of  God  or  when  God 
^   De  Virg.  vel.  i.  ^   De  Virg.  vel.  i.  ^  I.  Uxor.  2. 


84  TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS 

is  speaking  through  his  mouth,  he  must  necessarily 
lose  feeling,  since  the  divine  overshadows  him. 
That  is  a  great  debate  between  ourselves  and  the 
Psychics."^  Here  the  rising  antagonism  of  the 
African  writer  against  the  rest  of  his  correligionists 
and  his  swerving  from  his  leading  idea  and  his 
past  literary  life,  are  most  in  evidence.  He  no 
longer  believes  one  definite  and  certain  rule  of 
faith,  which,  being  found,  nothing  further  must 
be  sought.^  Whenever  an  overpowering  ecstasy 
comes  upon  him  like  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty, 
it  is  given  him  to  see  new  truths  that  enrich  his 
mind  with  lights  that  are  neither  in  the  vScripture 
nor  in  the  deposit  of  the  Church.  Thus,  in  his 
mind,  two  armies  stand  face  to  face:  on  the  one 
side,  the  Pneumatici  or  the  Spirituales,  who  place 
a  boundless  faith  in  private  revelations  and  guide 
their  life  accordingly ;  and  on  the  other,  the  Psychics, 
who,  content  v/ith  the  deposit  of  faith,  shut  their 
eyes  to  the  new  light.  Tertullian  unhesitatingly 
takes  sides  with  the  Pneumatici. 


As  the  Spirituales  professed  a  more  austere  asceticism 
than  their  opponents  and  systematically  set  them- 
selves apart  and  above  the  rest  of  the  Christian  com- 
munity, it  was  proper  that  some  exterior  sign  should 
distinguish  them  from  the  mass  of  the  faithful. ^ 
Tertullian  who  never  did  things  half-heartedly, 
allowed  hardly  a  year  to  elapse  after  his  first  mani- 
festation of  sympathy  with  the  new  prophets,  before 
he  ostentatiously  put  on  a  special  garb  as  a  symbol 

^  IV.   Adv.    Marc.    22.  ^  Praesc.   35. 

^  Monceaux,   op.   cit.   p.   405. 


TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS  85 

of  his  new  mode  of  life/    In  vain  did  people  rail  at 
him,    voicing  their  surprise  at  seeing  him   wrapped 
in  the   mantle  of  those  philosophers   whom,  he  had 
so  often  derided;     in   vain  did  this  garb  point  him 
out  in  the  street  to  pagans  and  to  Christians  alike, 
as  odd  and  affected.^     TertuUian  had  a  set  purpose 
in  wearing  his  new  costume.     Criticisms  about  his 
pallium  aiTorded  him  an  opportunity  of  expounding 
his   new    ideal   of   a   life   completely   detached   from 
worldly  interests.     "I   owe  no  duty  to  the  Forum, 
the  election  ground  or  the  Senate  House;    I  keep  no 
obsequious  vigils,  occupy  no  platforms,  hover  about 
no  pretorian  residences.     I   am  not  odorant  of  the 
canals,  am  not  adorant  of  the  lattices,  am  no  constant 
wearer  out  of  benches,  no  wholesale  router  of  laws, 
no    barking   leader,   no    judge,   no   soldier,   no  king: 
I    have    withdrawn    from    the    populace,    my    only 
business   is    with    myself.     Except    that    other    care 
I   have  none,   save  ^ not  to  care.     You   would  enjoy 
the   better  life   more   in  seclusion  than  in  publicity. 
But  you  will  decry  me  as  indolent.    Forsooth,  '  We 
are  to  live  for  our  country  and  Empire  and  State.' 
v^uch   used,    of   old,    to   be   the   sentiment.     None -is 
born  for  another  being  destined  to  do  for  himself."^ 
We    find    him    here    expressing    another    conception 
of  a  Christian  life  than  that  found  in  the  Apologeticiim. 
The   Christian    life,    by  its    body   of   principles   and 
tenets,  no  longer  makes  him  an  active  citizen.    The 
new    prophecy,    on    the    contrary,    bids    him    break 
with  the  world,   and  it  is  for  the  very  purpose  of 
manifesting  his  intention  to  keep  aloof  from  worldlv 
interests   that   TertuUian   had   put   on   the    Pallium. 

^   Pall,    i;     ibid.  5:     "Ita  a  toga  ad   pallium." 

Pall.  .V  3   Pall.  5. 


2  -Dr 


86  TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS 

The  closing  lines  of  the  treatise  are  characteristic 
and  to  the  point:  "So  speaks  the  mantle:  'But 
I  confer  on  it  likewise  a  fellowship  with  a  divine 
sect  and  discipline.  Rejoice,  mantle  and  exult. 
A  better  philosophy  has  now  deigned  to  honor  thee, 
even  since  thou  hast  begun  to  be  a  Christian 
vesture."^  The  better  philosophy,  whose  emblem 
the  Pallium  is  to  be,  is  not,  in  his  eyes,  the  con- 
ciliatory Christianity  of  the  Psychics,  but  the  rigorous 
and  austere  life  which  the  Pneumatics  advocate. 
The  work  is  purposedly  a  justification  of  the  new 
doctrine  and  a  profession  of  montanistic  faith. 

The  influence  of  this  new  philosophy  is  seen  to 
sink  deeper  into  the  apologetical  method  of  Tertullian. 
For  him.,  visions,  dreams  and  ecstasies  have  ceased 
to  be  exceptional  facts.  They  become  a  normal 
mode  of  God's  intercourse  with  m.an.  He  gees  so 
far  as  to  admit  that  most  men  know^  God  by  \ision.^ 
A  woman  of  his  acquaintance  is  often  ravished  in 
the  Spirit  during  the  common  prayer  on  Sunday. 
She  converses  with  the  Angels,  with  the  Lord  Himself, 
sees  and  hears  things  hidden,  reads  hearts  and 
suggests  remedies  to  any  one  who  consults  her.  Her 
testim^ony  is  strong  enough  in  Tertullian' s  rrind  to 
afford  a  basis  for  his  views  on  the  corporality  of 
the  soul.^  He  proves  also  the  doctrine  of  Purgatory 
from  the  authority  of  the  Paraclete:  "This  point, 
the  Paraclete  has  also  pressed  home  on  our  attention 


^  Pall.  6:  "Melior  iam  te  philosophia  dignata  est 
ex   quo   christianum   vestire   coepisti." 

^  An.  47.  "Maior  poene  vis  hominum  ex  visionibus 
Deum  discunt." 

^   Re.surr.  Carn.  63. 


TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS  87 

in    the    most   frequent    admonitions,    whenever    any 
of  us  has  admitted  the  force  of  His  words  from  a 
knowledge    of    His    promised    spiritual    disclosure."' 
Thus,   little   by   little,    the   new   prophecy   does   not 
merely  aim  at  reforming  the  discipline  of  the  Church, 
but  m.eddles  with  the  revelation  of  dogm.atic  truth. 
This  tendency  is  most  evident  in  the  de  Resurrec- 
tione   Carnis.     There   the   ardent   Montanist   speaks 
with  enthusiasm  of  the  new  revelation  that  confounds 
all  heresies:    "Almighty  God,  in  His  most  gracious 
Providence  by  the  pouring  out  of  His  Spirit  in  these 
last   days   upon   all   flesh,    on   His   servants   and   on 
His  handmiaids,  has  checked  the  imposture  of  unbelief 
and    perverseness,    reanimating    m.en's    faltering    in 
the  resurrection  of  the  flesh  and  clearing  all  obscurities 
and  equivocations  by  the  light  of  His  sacred  words 
and  meanings."-    Tertullian  now  foregoes  his  favorite 
argum.ent   of   prescription   as   a   proof   of   this   most 
fundam.ental   dogma.     He   no   longer   cares   whether 
a    doctritie   is   in   conformity   with   the    teaching   of 
Mother  Church  and  countenanced  by  the  Apostolic 
Episcopate.     Nay    more,    the    sacred    obscurities    of 
faith   seem   to   him.   to   be   illumined  by   the   bright 
light  which  is  now^  flooding  the   Church.     "It  was 
fit  and  proper  that  the  Holy  Ghost  should  no  longer 
withhold,  the    effusion    of    His    gracious    light    from 
the  inspired  wTitings,   thai    they  miight  disseminate 
the  seeds   of  truth  with  no  admixture   of  heretical 
subleties,   and  pluck   out   from   it   their  tares.      He 
has,   accordingly,   now  dispersed  all  the  perplexities 
of    the    times    and    their    self-chosen    allegories    and 
parables  by  the   clear   and  perspicuous  explanation 
of   the   entire   mystery   through   the   new   prophecy, 
'  An.  58.  '  ^  Resurr.  Carn.  53. 


88  TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

which  descends  in  copious  streams  from  the  Paraclete. 
If  yon  will  only  draw  water  from  His  fountain,  you 
will  never  thirst  for  other  doctrines."' 

As  tim.e  goes  on,  Tertullian  becomes  not  only  an 
ardent  champion  of  the  new  prophecy,  but  also  a 
most  obstinate  enem.y  and  critic  of  that  part  of  the 
Church  which  withstands  the  progress  of  Montanistic 
ideas.  The  more  his  system  of  thought  is  reshaped 
under  the  influence  of  the  new  prophecy,  the  more 
the  harmony  of  his  previous  id^as  is  lost,  and  the 
closer  he  comes  to  the  heresy  which  he  had  so  valor- 
ously  combated.  The  writer,  who  once  had  praised 
the  solid  organization  of  the  Christian  hierarchy, 
now  hurls  insults  at  its  members:  "It  is  plain  that, 
as  they  have  rejected  the  prophecy  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  they  are  also  purposing  the  refusal  of  martyr- 
dom."^ "I  know,  too,  that  their  pastors  are  lions 
in  peace,  deers  in  war."-5  Nay,  he  lays  down  the 
principle  subversive  of  all  discipline  and  authority, 
that  every  one  is  m.aster  of  his  own  conduct.  "Is 
not  every  believer  entitled  to  originate  and  establish 
a  law,  if  only  it  be  such  as  is  agreeable  to  God,  as 
is  helpful  to  discipline,  as  promotes  salvation?  The 
Lord  says:  'Why  did  you  not  of  your  own  self 
judge  what  is  right?"  In  regard  to  every  decision 
we  are  called  upon  to  consider,  the  Apostle  also 
says:  'If  of  anything  you  are  ignorant,  God  shall 
reveal  it  to  you."^    How  far  has  he  not  strayed  from 

'   Resurr.  Carn.  53. 

^   Fiiga    I. 

^   Fuga  2:    "  Novi  et  pastores  eorum,  in  i>ace  leones,  in 
proelio  cervos." 

^  Fuga    i:     "Paracletum    non    recipiendo    deductorem 
omnis   veritatis." 


TERTULLIAN  AND   HKS  APOLOGr<:TICS  89 

the  rule  of  faith,  which  he  had  so  eloquently  defended 
in  the  de  Praescriptione  haereticorum? 

Circumstances,  too,  afforded  his  aggressiveness  and 
hostile  spirit  an  opportunity  to  display  themselves 
still  more  openly.  Persecutions  were  then  threatening 
the  Church.  Favius,  a  Christian,  had  asked  him 
w^hether  it  was  licit  to  flee  before  the  persecution. 
The  tone  of  the  answer  is  rough  and  unsympathetic: 
"The  examination  of  the  question  concerns  you 
only,  for  having  refused  the  Paraclete,  the  messenger 
of  all  truth,  you  have  put  yourselves  in  trouble 
about  other  questions."^  And  he  comes  back  to 
the  idea  at  the  end  of  his  treatise:  "Those  w^ho  have 
received  the  Paraclete  know  neither  how  to  flee 
from  persecution  nor  how^  to  buy  their  safety,  for 
they  have  the  Lord  Himself,  one  w^ho  will  stand  b\' 
us  and  aid  us  in  suffering  as  well  as  to  be  our  mouth 
when  we  are  put  to  the  question."  He  considers 
the  bravery  and  the  moral  fortitude  of  the  Pneu- 
matics in  face  of  persecutions  a  proof  of  the  necessity 
of  the  Paraclete.^  On  the  contrary,  the  cowardice 
of  the  Psychics  and  their  cold  faith  are  consequences 
of  their  denial  of  the  ^  new  prophecy. ^  Thus,  bereft 
of  the  help  of  the  heavenly  light,  they  are  governed 
by  an  Episcopate  im.bued  with  the  most  worldly  spirit. 
Tertullian  exclaims  ironically:  "Apparently  th? 
Apostles  have  founded  and,  in  their  foresight, 
organized  the  Episcopate  so  that  the  Bishops  may 
enjoy  in  peace  the  revenues  of  their  kingdoms  under 
the  pretext  of  administering  them."-*  "It  is  not 
asked  who  is  ready  to  follow  the  broad  path,   but 

^  Fuga  14.  2  piiga  j^ 

3  Fuga  3:     "Plane  frivola  et  frigida  fides." 
''  I'^uga   13. 


90  TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

the  narrow,  and  therefore,  the  Comforter  is  required 
to  guide  unto  all  truth  and  to  animate  to  all 
endurance."^ 

The  extremism  and  violence  of  Tertullian's  opinions 
as  well  as  his  adherence  to  the  new  prophecy,  had 
at  this  time  attached  to  his  name  the  epithet  of 
heretic.^  It  was  more  especially  his  rigoristic  views 
on  second  marriage  that  branded  him,  in  the  eyes 
of  Christians,  as  a  novelty-seeker.^  The  Paraclete, 
whose  spokesman  he  was,  was  thus  accused  of 
being  the  originator  of  a  new  doctrine,  of  beliefs 
and  practices  opposed  to  those  of  previous  ages.-* 
The  opportunity  was  at  hand  to  lay  down  the 
fundamental  principles.  Can  the  Holy  Ghost  reveal 
anything  new?  Yes,  answers  Tertullian,  taking  for 
his  basis  the  text  of  St.  John  he  had  so  often  inter- 
preted in  the  Catholic  sense :  "I  have  yet  many  things 
to  say  to  you,  but  you  can  not  bear  them  now; 
when  He,  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  is  com.e.  He  will 
teach  you  all  truth."  In  these  words.  Our  Lord 
clearly  tells  us  that  the  Paraclete  will  bring  new 
teachings  which  have  never  before  been  revealed. 
Why  can  not  the  same  Spirit,  i6o  years  after  the 
Apostles,  impose  a  final  bridle  upon  the  flesh,  no 
longer  indirectly  calling  us  away  from  marriage, 
but  openly.  Even  though  the  Apostles  had  allowed 
such  marriages,  it  was  a  concession  to  the  needs 
of   the   times   since   abrogated   by  the   Paraclete.^ 

Not  only  was  Tertullian  looked  upon  askance  by 
the  Christian  community,  but  even  the  living 
authority  of  the  Church  had  taken  steps  to  condemn 

^  Fuga  14. 

^   De  Monog.  2,   15;    St.  Augustine,  de  Haeres,  86. 

^   Monog.   2,    15.     "•   Monog.   2,    15.     ^   jMonog.    10-14. 


TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS  91 

the  doctrine  of  those  who  imposed  insupportable 
burdens  upon  the  people.'  In  the  matter  of  fasts 
the  Montanists  went  much  farther  than  the  Church. 
They  were  accused  of  attaching  more  importance 
to  fasting  than  to  faith,  and  of  apeing  the  practices 
of  the  heretics.^  A  decree  had  been  issued  by  Pope 
Callistus  against  any  arbitrary  innovation.  Ter- 
tullian,  springing  to  the  fore,  denied  that  the  Epis- 
copate, the  teaching  and  governing  authority  of 
the  Church,  had  the  right  to  limit  the  mortifications 
of  individuals  and  to  be  the  interpreter  of  the  law: 
"You  again  set  up  boundaries  to  God  as  with  regard 
to  grace,  so  with  regard  to  discipline."^  When  Catholics 
objected  the  text  which  he  had  so  often  commented 
upon  (Luke  16,  16)  making  the  ancient  prophecy 
end  with  John  the  Baptist,  he  answered  boldly: 
"Even  if  the  Holy  Ghost  had  not  spoken  through 
the  mouth  of  Montanus,  the  Phrygian  prophet, 
the  Montanists  would  have  been  their  own  prophets 
about  such  clear  duties. "■♦  This  assertion  allow^s  us 
to  measure  the  distance  from  Tertullian,  the  author 
of  de  Praescriptione,  to  Tertullian,  the  author  of 
de  leiunio;  the  one  upholding  the  regulafidei  as  the  sole 
source  of  faith  and  morals,  the  other  setting  the 
individual  up  as  a  law^maker  to  himself  against  the 
authority  of  tradition. 

About  this  time,  our  author  wrote  his  seven  books 
on  Ecstasy,  which  are  now  lost.^  They  were,  probably> 

^  M.  Rolffs:  Urkunden  aus  dem  antimontanistischen 
Kampfe,    1895.  ^  leiun,    r,   2,   9-10,    15,    16. 

^  leiun.    II.     "  Palos    terminales    figitis    Deo." 

"*  leiun,  2,   12. 

^^  Bardenhewer,  op.  cit.  vol.  II,  p.  383;  P.  de  LabrioUe, 
Antimontanisme  et  la  prophetic  extatique  in  Revue  Hist, 
et  litt.  relig.   1906,  p.   122. 


92  TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

a  systematic  justification  of  his  new  plan  of  Apolo- 
getics. Were  these  books  still  extant,  instead  of 
gleaning  here  and  there  accidental  references  to 
his  Montanisrrx  and  placing  them  in  an  artificial  order, 
we  would  have  the  fuU  expression  of  the  principles 
which  made  him  swerve  from  the  leading  idea  of 
his  previous  life  and  thought.' 

It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  the  last  manifestation 
of  Tertullia^n's  heresy  was  directed  against  the 
Rom.an  Church,  the  most  Apostolic  of  all  Churches, 
one  which  he  had  so  eloquenty  proclaimed  to 
heretics  as  a  fountainhead  and  mainspring  of  the 
truth  of  Christ.^  "I  hear  that  there  has  been  an  edict 
sent  forth,  and  a  peremptory  one  too.  The  Pontifex 
Maximus,  that  is,  the  Bishop  of  bishops,  issues  an 
edict :  •  '  I  remit  to  those  who  have  discharged  the 
requirements  of  repentance  the  sins  both  of  adultery 
and  of  fornication.'  And  where  shall  this  liberality 
be  posted?  On  the  very  spot,  I  suppose,  on  the 
very  gates  of  the  sensual  appetites,  beneath  the  very 
titles  of  the  sensual  appetites?  No?  It  is  in  the 
Church  that  the  edict  is  read,  and  in  the  Church 
that  it  is  pronounced — and  the  Church  is  a  virgin. 
Far,  far,  from  Christ's  spouse,  be  such  a  proclamation  I 
vShe,  the  true,  the  chaste,  the  holy,  must  keep  even 
her  ears  free  from  pollution."^  Thence  Tertullian 
imposes,  so  to  speak,  upon  the  Church  of  Christ, 
the  choice  between  the  rule  of  a  lax  Pontifex  Maximus 
and  the  rigorous  tenets  of  the  new  prophets. 

His    evident    intention    is    to    attack    the.  Roman 

Church     and     her     Episcopus     episcoporum,     whose 

authorit}^  he  reluctantly  and  bitterly  acknowledges. 

He  knows  that  the  "peremptory  edict"  of  Callistus 

^   Praescr.   36.  ^  Pudic.   ,1  6-9. 


TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS  93 

is  destined  to  influence  the  whole  Church  and  afi"ect 
his  own  African  community.  How  will  he  attack 
this  "potentior  principalitas "  which  irritates  him 
to  such  an  extent? 

First  of  all  he  distinguished  between  "discipline" 
and  "power."  Power  is  something  supernatural. 
"It  is  the  Spirit,  and  the  Spirit  is  God."'  The 
Apostles  had  power,  the  power  to  remit  sin.  The 
Pope's  only  business,  on  the  contrary,  is  to  see  that 
discipline  is  observed.  All  the  other  rights  which 
the  Pope  claims  as  his  ow^n,  are,  according  to  Ter- 
tullian,  wanton  usurpations.  The  powers  conferred 
upon  the  Apostles,  when  they  received  the  Holy 
Ghost,  have  passed  to  those  only  who  have  received 
the  Holy  Ghost,  viz.,  to  the  vSpirituals.  It  belongs, 
of  course,  to  the  Church,  for,  where  the  Church  is, 
there  is  also  the  Spirit.  But  the  ministers  of  the 
Spirit  are  the  Spirituals,  and  not  those  who  are 
merely  invested  with  disciplinary  functions.^ 

The  Bishops,  therefore,  have  no  power  whatsoever, 
unless  they  believe  in  the  new  prophecy.  Tertullian 
had  once  spoken  to  the  heretics  with  born  indigna- 
tion: "  Laicis  sacerdotalia  munera  iniungunt."'^  Now 
he  boldly  declares  that  the  priesthood  belongs  to 
all.^  Force  of  circumstances  has  thus  led  him  to 
become  the  spokesman  of  the  lay  element  in  revolt 
against  the  Church.  The  Episcopate  looms  before 
his  eyes  as  the  tyranny  of  a  mere  man,  setting  up 
his  authority  against  the  Holy  Spirit  and  as  a 
hateful  counterfeit  of  the  Apostolic  institutions. 
His  last  word  is  a  denial  of  the  hierarchv  of  the 
Church :    Ecclesia  quidem  delicta  donabit,  sed  Ecclesia 

'   Piidic.   XXI.  -   Pudic.   XXI.  ^   Praesc.   41. 

^   De   Exhort,   cast.   7;     Alonog.   7,    12;     Pudic.   XXI. 


94  TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS 

spiritus  per  spiritalem  hominem — non  Ecclesia  numerus 
Episcoponim.''^  vSuch  a  declaration  is  the  logical 
corollary  of  the  principle  of  the  new  prophecy  which 
has  slowly  overturned  in  Tertullian's  rrind  the  long- 
established  and  solidly-prescribed  ecclesiastical  system 
and  organization.  The  ever-changing  rule  of  private 
inspiration  is  substituted  for  the  immutable  and 
complete  rule  of  faith  given  by  Christ  to  His  Apostles, 
by  the  Apostles  to  Christ's  Church,  by  His  Church 
to  us. 

In  his  orthodox  works,  he  had  denounced  both 
the  never-ending  variety  of  opinions,  which  charac- 
terized the  doctrine  of  the  heretics,  and  the  dis- 
sensions which  soon  split  the  heretical  bodies  into 
many  parts  and  finally  precipitated  them  to  utter 
destruction.  The  truth  of  the  assertion  was  to  be 
realized  in  his  own  case.  He  lived  to  a  very  old  age 
and  wrote  many  other  treatises  in  defence  of  his 
new  creed. ^  In  spite  of  the  services  rendered  to  the 
Montanistic  cause,  he  separated  from  his  former 
friends  in  the  course  of  time,  and  founded  a  sect 
of  his  own,  the  Tertullianist  sect.^  It  must  have  had 
but  a  few  adherents.  St.  Optatus  speaks  of  their 
conversion. "»  Thus,  after  200  years,  disappeared  the 
last  vestiges  of  a  schism  founded  by  one  who  had 
spoken  so  forcefully  and  convincingly  of  unity  and 
doctrine  and  discipline  in  the  one  Church — the 
Church  cf  Christ  and   His   Apostles. 

^  Pudic.  XXI. 

^  Hieron.  de  \'ir.  111.  "Ferturque  vixisse  usque  ad 
decrepitam  aetatem,  et  multa  quae  non  exstant  opuscula 
condidisse." 

^  August,  de  Haer.  86:    "  Tertullianistae  a  Tertulliano." 

"'  Optatus,  de  Schismate  Uonat.   I,  9. 


TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS  95 


CHAPTER  VII. 

HIS    STYLE. 

Summary. — Tertullian's  ardent  faith  creative  of  his  style. — 
I.  How  he  expressed  God:  proof  of  His  existence;  description 
of  His  attributes;  (omnipotence,  grandeur,  goodness  and 
justice,  love). — II.  The  history  of  man:  creation;  fall; 
promise  of  the  Messiah;  the  humanity  of  Christ;  his  life; 
Christ's  lowliness  is  Tertullian's  glory;  Bossuet's  com- 
mentaries.— III.  The  life  of  the  Church:  characterization 
of  its  members  and  its  enimies;    the  last    judgment. 

In  the  opening  lines  of  his  short  treatise  on 
Patience,  TertulHan  writes:  "I  fully  confess  unto 
the  Lord  my  boldness,  not  to  say  my  impudence, 
in  daring  to  write  a  v/ork  on  patience — I  who  can 
not  be  patient  in  my  own  life.  .  .  .  May  my  shame 
in  not  practicing  what  I  am  teaching  others  help 
me  to  acquire  this  virtue !  Like  a  sick  man  ever 
talking  of  the  benefits  of  health  at  a  time  when  he 
least  enjoys  them,  T  hope  it  will  be  a  comfort  to 
me  to  speak  of  a  blessing  which  I  am  sorry  not  to 
possess.  .  .  .  Alas,  burning  as  I  am  with  the  fires 
of  impatience,  I  must  pray  for  patience  and  leave 
nothing  undone  till  I  obtain  it."^ 

From  this  humble  avowal  it  is  plain  that  'Ter- 
tullian's was  a  lofty  mind  and  a  delicate  conscience. 
The    quotation    serves    also    this    other    important 

"    De    Patientia,    I. 


96  TERTULLTAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

purpose — it  gives  a  clear  insight  into  the  style  of 
the  great  Apologist.  In  his  ardent  soul,  thoughts 
and  feelings  are  continually  welling  up  and  clamoring 
for  expression.  Sometimes  these  thoughts  and 
these  feelings  are  too  broad  and  too  deep  for  their 
channel;  then  the  pressure  becomes  double  and 
quadruple  till  its  full  activity  has  been  spent  and 
the  channel  broadened  and  deepened  to  its  necessary 
proportion. 

The  style  of  Tertullian  follows  his  thouglit  so 
closely,  or  rather  is  so  one  with  it;  his  thought  is 
so  faithful  an  image  of  his  soul;  his  soul  expresses 
itself  with  such  spontaneity  and  sincerity,  that 
we  shall  be  studying  throughout  the  entire  chapter 
only  his  thought  from  another  view-point.  Therefore, 
it  will  be  necessary  to  treat  this  subject  at  some 
length. 

On  the  existence  of  God,  he  writes  with  his  ready 
pen:  "Would  you  have  proof  that  God  exists  from 
the  testimony  of  the  soul  itself?  This  soul  invokes 
God  under  the  only  name  that  befits  Him.  'Great 
God!'  'Good  God!'  are  words  on  every  lip.""^  To 
convince  his  reader  of  the  oneness  of  God,  he  is  not 
content  with  an  indirect  appeal  to  the  human  soul. 
He  summons  it  to  the  witness-stand;  he  makes  it 
appear  before  us  and  draws  the  truth  from  its  own 
lips:  "We  give  offence  by  preaching  that  there 
is  one  God  who  made  and  governs  the  Universe. 
Speak,  then,  and  tell  what  thou  knowest  of  the 
matter.  The  very  thing  which  people  object  to 
our  proclaiming,  we  have  often  heard  thee  speak 
aloud   and   freely.     Thou   sayest:     "What   has   God 

^    Apol.     17- 


TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS  97 

given  us?'  or  'If  God  will!'  Undoubtedly,  by  the 
word  God  thou  meanest  any  being  from  whom  thou 
receivest  power  and  to  whose  will  thou  dost  look. 
At  the  same  time,  thou  deniest  the  divinity  of  all 
those  thou  callest  Saturn,  Jupiter,  Mars  or 
Minerva.  .  .  ."'  Only  a  part  of  this  colloquy  is 
quoted  here.  It  goes  on  with  a  logic  fraught  with 
life  and  light.  He  .paints  the  Omnipotence  of 
this  One  God  with  a  single  stroke  of  the  brush. 
We  behold  the  picture,  and  this  thought  flashes 
into  our  minds:  "Even  nothingness  is  His,  Who 
is  Lord  of  all."^  This  idea  of  a  sovereign  dominion 
over  nothingness  is  powerfully  rendered.  How  can 
the  grandeur  of  God  be  conceived?  How  expressed? 
Tertullian  feels  a  torturing  desire  to  make  us  feel, 
to  give  us,  as  it  were,  the  sensation  of  it.  "Hence," 
says  Bossuet,  "in  search  of  glorious  words  to  express 
the  incommunicable  excellence  of  God,  he  calls 
Him  'the  Supreme  Greatness.'  Unable  to  find 
aught  equal  to  Himself,  He  fills  a  solitude  with  the 
uniqueness  of  His  perfections."-'  "This  is  a  peculiar 
saying,"  continues  Bossuet,  "but  this  writer,  used 
to  strong  expression,  seems  to  seek  new  words  to 
speak  fittingly  of  the  matchless  greatness  of  God. 
Note  especially  his  wonderful  expression  '  the  solitude 
of  God' — a  sublime  and  awe-inspiring  solitude."-' 

The  same  lofty  thought  and  the  same  striving 
after   an   adequate   rendering   of   what   he   sees   and 

'   De    Test.    an.    2. 

^  ApoL  38:     "  Eius  est  nihilum  ipsum  cuius    est    totum.'' 

^  I  Adv.  Marc.  4:  "Summum  magnum  ex  defectione 
aemuli  solitudinem  quamdam  de  singularitate  praestantiae 
suae  possidetis. " 

^  Bossuet.   Oeuvrcs  Oratoires,   ed.   Lebarq.   vol.   Ill,   p.   6. 


98  TERTULLTAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

experiences  within  are  displayed  in  the  treatment 
of  the  goodness  of  God.  He  shows  us  that  goodness 
in  a  peerless  light:  "In  the  beginning  God  was  only 
good."^  Thus  he  isolates  this  infinite  goodness  of 
God  from  His  other  attributes.  Tertullian  explains 
wh}/  it  did  not  remain  thus  alone,  why  we  have 
known  something  more  than  God's  goodness,  and 
the  reason  he  gives  brings  out  very  clearly  this 
goodness  he  is  trying  to  have  us  realize:  "But 
since  wickedness  arose,  since  this  infinite  goodness 
met  with  foes,  it  was  necessary  that  the  divine 
justice  should  avenge  the  goodness  thus  scorned."^ 
Justice  thus  shown  side  by  side  with  goodness  will 
not  replace,  destroy,  belittle  or  diminish  it,  but 
preserve  and  defend  it  in  our  behalf.  How.  tersely 
and  luminoush^  the  latter  idea  is  put !  "  Omne  justitiae 
opus  procuratio  bonitatis."  According  to  Bossuet's 
paraphrase:  "Justice  acts  in  behalf  of  goodness, 
works  for  it,  defends  its  interests."  Tertullian  does 
not  tire  of  maintaining  the  goodness  and  the  justice 
of  God,  the  one  with  its  benefits,  the  other  with 
its  sword,  not  only  side  by  side  but  face  to  face. 
This  bold  contrast,  which  he  delights  in  repeating 
and  expressing  in  many  wa3^s,  is  quite  in  favor  of 
divine  goodness:  "Ilia  ingenita,  haec  accidens;  ilia 
edita,  haec  adhibita;  ilia  propria,  haec  accomodata."^ 
He  insists  again  in  different  words  as  though  he 
feared  not  to  have  said  enough,  or  not  well 
enough:  "Prior  bonitas  secundum  naturam; 
severitas  posterior  secundum  causam."'^     Might  we 

^  II.  Adv.  Marc,  ii:    "  Deus  a  primordio  tantum  bonus." 
^  Ibid,    id.:     "At    enim    ut    malum    postea    erupit,    atque 
inde  iam  coepit  bonitas   Dei  cum  adversaria  agere.  .  .  ." 
3  Adv.  Marc.   ii.  ^  Adv.  Marc.   ii. 


THRTULLIAN  AND  HLS  APOLOGETICvS  99 

not  l)e  led  to  coiichide  that  Tertiillian's  soul,  the 
thought  of  that  soul,  and  the  expression  thereof, 
have  arrived  at  a  perfect  union  and  form  a  harmonious 
whole?  Yet  liis  sturdy  genius  which  brooks  none 
but  the  strongest  expression,  an  expression  fully 
proportionate  to  his  breadth  and  depth  of  soul, 
is  still  unsatished.  It  forces  him  to  condense  his 
idea  still  more  and  in  six  words,  two  of  which  are 
prepositions,  his  whole  idea  is  comprehended: 
"  De  suo  optimus,  de  nostro  Justus."^  "When  He  is 
good,  it  is  of  Himself,  of  His  own  essence;  when  He 
is  just,  it  is  because  of  us."  These  are  supstantial 
words,  words  full  of  meaning,  simple,  expressive, 
eloquent,  which  easily  sink  into  our  memory  and 
remain  imprinted  there.  Thus  Tertullian  paints, 
carves  and  engraves  on  our  minds  God,  such  as 
reason  can  conceive  Him,  such  as  it  sees  Him  in 
the  inner  depths  of  that  human  soul  into  whose 
secrets  he  has  gone  so  deep,  and  whose  testimony 
he  has  so  successfully  invoked  in  behalf  of  truth. 

He  will  use  strokes  no  less  strong  but  softened 
and  more  tender  to  picture  to  us  the  same  God, 
as  revealed  faith  places  Him  before  us.  That  this 
great  God  brought  much  love  to  the  creation  of 
man,  Tertullian  makes  us  feel  vividl^^  He  avoids 
all  tone  of  command  and  employs  only  what  is 
tender,  caressing  and  friendly.  "  Non  imperial! 
verbo,  sed  familiari  manu,  et  jam  verbo  blandienti 
praemisso,  faciamus  hominem."^  "Not  with  a  word 
of  command  does  God  set  His  hand  to  the  work  but 
with  great  mildness  and  even  in  caressing  and 
flattering  accents.   He  says:     'Let  us  make  man.'" 

^   Resiir.   Carn.   14.  ^  Resur.  Carn.  6. 


loo        TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICvS 

The  thought  of  God  busied  in  creating  us  out  of 
this  love  is  a  great  and  touching  one.  Its  greatness 
grows  on  us  and  fills  us  with  religious  emotion  when 
TertulHan,  beholding  the  Divine  Artisan  at  work, 
and  penetrating  the  depths  of  the  divine  thought, 
says  simpty:  "Ouodcumque  limus  exprimebatur, 
Christus  cogitabatur,  homo  futurus."'  "All  that 
the  slime  was  shaped  into  by  His  lingers  was,  in 
His  thought,  the  Christ-  Who  one  day  should  be 
Man."  In  a  few  words,  we  find  condensed  and 
harmoniously  grouped  all  the  details  worthy  of  our 
attention:  the  Workman,  His  material  (Hmus,  the 
slime  of  the  earth,  vilest  of  all  materials),  the  very 
process  of  creation  with  all  its  steps  (quodcumque 
exprimebatur),  the  Thought  or  Ideal  of  this  subHme 
Artisan,  the  nam.e  of  this  great  Thought  (Christus), 
and,  in  the  distant  future  of  the  fulfillment  of  time, 
the  unspeakable  mystery  of  the  Incarnation  (homo 
futurus).  What  a  thought!  What  theology  in  this 
thought !  What  a  wonderful  sentence,  comprehending, 
as  it  does,  all  the  theology  of  this  whole  idea. 

Man,  a  w^ork  of  love  and  a  figure  of  Christ,  is 
placed  in  the  earthly  paradise.  The  demon  appears 
to  lead  him  to  ruin.  The  words  in  which  Tertullian 
paints  vSatan  are  characteristic  and  never  to  be 
forgotten:  "The  devil  is  the  envier  of  God,  His 
rival. "^  These  two  words  explain  the  accursed  one's 
history,  both  in  heaven  and  on  earth.  His  activity 
here  below  centers  about  the  ruin  of  man— "  Operatio 
eorum  est  hominis  eversio."^  His  hatred  is  like  a 
devouring  fire.  "  Plurimum  accenditur,  cum  extin- 
guitur"^  the  more  you  try  to  extinguish  it,  the 
more  it  burns.     Our  first  parents'  fall  into  the  snare 

^   Resur.    Carn.    6.     ^  Apol.    22.     ^  Apol.    22.     ^   Poen.    7. 


TKRTULLIAN   AND   HLS  APOLQGjrfiCfi         ibi 

'  '  '  ,  '  > 
of  this  evil  one  was  lamentable.  Te  ptjjllian,  in  rirdcr 
to  depict  the  first  moment  and  the  first  consequence 
of  this  fall,  finds  a  thought  exquisitely  delicate: 
"Nihil  primum  senserunt  quam  erubescendum"' — 
"the  first  feeling  they  experienced  was  the  blush  of 
shame."  This  shame  is  a  vivid  picture  of  their 
wretchedness  and  ours. 

After  the  Fall,  the  destinies  of  the  world  follow 
a  course  different  from  the  primitive  plan.  They 
may  be  summed  up  in  the  strife  and  struggle  of  the 
two  powers  which  seem  to  take  possession  of  man- 
kind— the  Saviour  promised  to  man,  and  vSatan, 
the  rival,  the  envier  of  God.  Tertullian  describes 
this  dramatic  situation  in  a  few  words.  He  calls 
the  demons  the  "magistrates  of  this  age."-"  The 
word  "magistrates"  is  significant;  without  need 
of  further  explanation,  it  indicates  the  mastery  of 
the  evil  spirits  and  the  servitude  of  man.  To 
wretched  man  there  remained  his  soul,  fallen,  it  is 
true,  but  still  adorned  with  some  of  the  features 
of  the  divine  image  and  likeness,  and  bearing  within 
itself  the  testimony  of  the  essential  truths.  Had 
he  only  known  how  to  heed  this  testimony,  but 
"every  soul  is  at  once  a  culprit  and  a  witness."^ 
Bossuet  comments  thus:  "criminal  by  the  corrup- 
tion of*  its  will,  witness  by  the  light  of  its  reason ; 
criminal  by  the  hatred  of  justice,  witness  by  the 
certitude  of  its  sacred  laws."^  There  remained  to 
him  specially  the  hope  of  the  promised  Messiah, 
the  faith  in  His  advent  and  in  the  sovereign  virtue 


^  De  Virg.  vel   i  i . 

^  "  Daemones  sunt  magistratus  saeculi." 

^  De  test.  an.  6:    "Merito  omnis  anima  et  rea  et  testis." 

4  Op.  cit.    Vol.   IV.   p.   557. 


I02         TBRTT?2^t;iAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 


of  nis' action,  hilt  thfere  was  also  one  needed  to  open 
his  eves  to  see,  and  his  ears  to  hear.  While  the 
demon  was  thus  tramphng  the  world  under  his  feet, 
while  mankind  was  groaning  under  this  hard  servi- 
tude, what  v/as  this  Messiah  and  Saviour  doing, 
this  man  of  the  future — "homo  futurus"?  Tertullian 
tells  us  in  very  sweet  and  touching  words:  "  Kdiscens 
iam  inde  a  primordio,  iam  inde,  hominem  quod  erat 
futurus  in  fine."^  This  beautiful  thought  goes  straight 
to  our  hearts.  "Jam  inde" — from  that  time,  that 
is  from  the  moment  of  our  fall,  and  of  the  promise 
of  the  Messiah;  without  the  least  interval;  "a 
primordio" — from  the  origin  of  things.  Tertullian 
thus  repeats  the  idea  in  different  words  to  lay  stress 
upon  the  prom^ptness  of  the  help.  "  Ediscens  homi- 
nem"— These  two  words  translate  and  interpret 
the  whole  of  the  Old  Testament  in  each  of  its  pages 
•with  the  truest,  the  highest,  and  the  most  eloquent 
piety.  "Ediscens  hominem" — learning  to  be  Man, 
taking  delight  in  practicing  what  He  would  be  in 
the  fulness  of  time.  It  is  because  he  had  thus  followed 
the  Saviour  step  by  step  from  the  beginning  of 
His  career,  with  the  Hoty  Patriarchs  and  Prophets, 
that  Tertullian  at  sight  of  Him  in  the  sublime  pages 
of  the  Gospel  allowed  his  heart  to  burst  forth  in 
this  pious  exclamation:  "O  Christum  et  in  novis 
veterem"-— O  Christ,  so  old  in  the  newness  of  His 
Gospel.  This  is  also  wh}-  he  calls  Jesus  by  this  great 
and  true  name  "Illuminator  antiquitatum"^ — Jesus 
the  illuminer  of  past  ages. 

Besides  serving  His  apprenticeship  in  our  human- 
ity, what  was  the  expected  Savior  doing?  Tertullian 
shows  Him  to  us  fighting  with  the  demon  for  the 

^  III.   Adv.   Marc.   5.         ^   IV.    Marc.   ci.       ^  i^id.   id. 


THRTULLIAX  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS        103 

redemption  and  restoration  of  our  nature.  The 
expressions  which  he  uses  to  describe  this  struggle 
should  be  analysed  one  after  the  other  since  they 
contain  such  deep  meaning.  "  Deus  imaginem  suam 
a  diabolo  captam  aemula  operatione  recuperavit"'^ 
the  devil  having  captured  man,  the  image  of  God, 
God  wages  war  against  him  to  reconquer  His  image. 
The  Messiah  comes  at  the  appointed  time. 
He  is  made  flesh  in  the  womb  of  the  Virgin  through 
the  ineffable  operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost;  He  is 
born  like  one  of  us;  He  becomes  a  little  child;  He 
grows  according  to  our  fashion;  He  earns  His  daily 
bread  in  obscurity  and  poverty.  Tertullian  is  not 
afraid  to  term  all  this  "pusillitates  Dei"^  — "the 
weaknesses  of  God."  Far  from  being  ashamed  of 
them,  he  proclaims  them  loudly  before  his  enemies. 
With  Christian  pride  and  a  simplicity  that  reveals 
the  depth  of  his  thought,  the  Apologist  explains 
them  and  proves  them  by  triumphant  reasoning. 
In  this  newborn  Child,  he  sees  the  Victim  of  Calvary: 
"the  swaddling-clothes  of  the  Son  of  God  are  the 
beginning  of  His  burial."^  "vSee  this  Sovereign 
Majesty  at  which  the  Angels  dare  not  gaze,"  says 
Bossuet,  translating  and  commenting  upon  Ter- 
tullian, "It  comes  down,  lowers  Itself,  deals  with 
us  as  with  equals,  and,  still  more  wonderful,  permits 
that  we  in  turn  should  deal  with  It  as  an  equal." 
"Ex  aequo  agebat  Deus  cum  homine,  ut  homo  vel 
ex  aequo  agere  cum  Deo  posset. "^  "God  desires 
to  act  as  a  man,"  Tertullian  goes  on  to  say,"  that 
man  mav  learn  to  act  as  a  God," — "  Ut  homo  divine 


^   De    Carn.    Christi,    17.  ^  II.    Marc.   27. 

^  IV.     Marc.    21:      "  Pannis    iam    sepuUurae    involucrum 
initiatus."  ^  II.   Marc.   27. 


I04        TKRTULLIAN  AND   IIKS  APOLOGETICS 

agere  doceretur."^  When  the  enemies  of  Christ 
persist  in  their  scorn  and  maintain  that  what  is 
told  of  the  Word  made  Flesh  is  unworthy  of  his 
God,  Tertullian  does  not  gainsa}^  them  but  gives 
a  trenchant  answer  which  perfectly  exposes  the 
heart  of  God  and  the  heart  of  man:  "  Ouodcumque 
Deo  indignum  est  mihi  expedit"- — Anything  un- 
worthy of  God  is  to  my  advantage.  "Nihil  enim 
tam  dignum  quam  salus  hominis"^ — For  nothing 
is  so  worthy  of  God  than  the  salvation  of  man. 
These  are  admirable  words,  a  joy  for  the  mind,  for 
the  heart  and  for  the  soul.  Tertullian  finds  even 
better  when  reproached  with  the  opprobrium  of 
the  Gospel.  Assuming  a  warlike  attitude,  together 
with  the  sacred  audacity  of  the  martyrs  and  the 
whole-hearted  initiative  of  simple  thought  and 
illumined  faith,  he  accepts  this  opprobrium  and 
claims  it  as  the  highest  good,  as  his  dearest  posses- 
sion with  which  he  would  not  part  for  aught  in 
the  world.  The  spirit  of  Bossuet  and  that  of  Ter- 
tullian are  so  alike  and  so  one  in  the  expression  of 
these  noble  sentiments  that  a  page  of  the  former 
may  here  be  pertinently  quoted:  "The  grave 
Tertullian  boasts  that  the  cross  of  Jesus  by  making 
him  despise  opprobrium,  has  made  him  prudently 
imprudent  and  wisely  foolish.  'I  rejoice,'  exclaims 
this  great  man  when  the  shame  of  the  Gospel  was 
thrown  at  him,  '  I  rejoice  at  the  ignominy  of  my 
Master  and  that  necessary  dishonor  of  faith — neces- 
sarium  dedecus  fidei.  .  .  .  The  Son  of  Man  hung 
on  the  Cross;  I  am  not  ashamed  of  it,  precisely 
because    it    is    shameful.     The    Son    of    God    died; 

'  Ibid,   id.,   Bossuet,   Op.   cit.   vol.   II.,   p.   279. 
^   Carn.  Christi,  5.  ^  II.  Marc.  27. 


TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGKTICS         105 

it  is  credible  for  the  ver}^  reason  that  it  is  absurd. 
The  Son  of  Man  is  risen  from  the  dead;  I  believe 
the  more  certainly  because  according  to  poor  human 
reason  it  appears  wholly  impossible."'  Thus  writes 
in  another  place  the  Bishop  of  Meaux:  "In  union 
with  the  grave  Tertullian,  I  say  with  my  whole 
soul:  'Alihi  vindico  Christum,  mihi  defendo 
Christum,  quodcumque  illud  corpusculum  sit.'^ 
That  innocent  man  opposed  by  the  whole  world 
is  Christ  Whom  I  seek;  I  hold  that  this  Christ  is 
m.ine;  I  protest  that  He  is  my  own.  If  He  be 
disgraced,  if  He  be  scorned,  if  He  be  wretched, 
nay,  if  He  be  a  stumbling  block  to  the  unfaithful, 
He  is  my  Christ.  'vSi  inglorius,  si  ignobilis,  si 
inhonorabilis,  mxcus  erit  Christus.'  For  such  He 
was  promised  by  the  Prophets — 'Talis  enim  habitu 
et   aspectu   annuntiabatur'".^ 

Christ  wished  to  live  only  in  order  to  suffer, 
or,  to  use  the  beautiful  words  of  Tertullian,  "Before 
His  death  He  desired  to  be  sated  with  the  voluptu- 
ousness of  suffering" — "  saginari  voluptate  pati- 
entiae  discessurus  volebat."^  Moreover,  Tertullian 
explains  why  Christ  lacks  the  glory  which  the 
world  seeks,  and  the  reason  he  gives  is  that  very 
glory  which  is  proper  to  Christ,  a  peerless  glory 
compared  to  which  all  human  glory  pales  into 
insignificance.  Without  dilating  profusely  on  this 
glory,  he  gives  an  idea  of  the  royalty  of  his  Master, 
comparing   its    power   with    that    of    the    kingdoms 

^  Carn.  Christi,  5:  "  Crucifixus  est  Dei  fiHus:  non  pudet, 
quia  pudendum  est.  Kt  mortuus  est  Dei  filius:  prorsus 
credibile  est,  quia  ineptum  est.  Et  sepultus  resurrexit : 
certum  est,  quia  impossibile  est." 

^  III.  Marc.  16-17.  ^   Ibid.  id.  ^  Pat.    3. 


io6        TERTULLTAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS 

of  earth.  "Regem  se  fieri,  conscius  regni  sui, 
refugit"' — Knowing  His  Own  kingdom,  He  refuses 
the  one  offered  Him.  It  would  be.  difficult  to  find 
elsewhere  so  many  ideas  condensed  in  such  narrow 
compass.  The  writer  places  vividly  before  our  eyes 
Christ,  infinitely  wise  (conscius),  standing  between 
the  kingdom  of  earth  (regem  se  fi.eri)  and  the 
kingdom  which  is  His  Own  (regni  sui).  The  word 
"refugit"  at  the  end  of  the  sentence  has  the  ring 
of  a  kingly  utterance,  of  a  refusal  given  with  its 
motives. 

This  solemn  and  dignified  thought  is  an  act  of 
defence,  but  Tertullian  is  not  of  those  who  content 
themselves  with  being  always  on  the  defensive. 
Because  his  temper  is  violent,  because  being  the  son 
of  a  Roman  centurion,  soldier's  blood  courses  through 
his  veins,  he  prefers  the  offensive.  He  loathes  that 
human  glory  which  was  wanting  to  Christ  and 
which  is  a  pretext  for  the  world's  scorn  and  abuse 
upon  His  life.  He  has  just  stated  that  Christ  refused 
that  glory  for  a  motive  which  singularly  belittles 
it  and  gives  it  an  inferior  rank.  He  now  attacks 
it  by  a  sudden  onslaught:  "  Gloriam  saeculi  alienam 
et  sibi  et  suis  judicavit"' — "Worldly  glory  He 
thought  to  be' foreign  to  Himself  and  to  His  own." 
"Ouam  noluit,  rejecit;  quam  rejecit,  damnavit; 
quam  damnavit  in  pompa  diaboli  deputavit"^ — 
"Because  He  did  not  want  it.  He  rejected  it;  since 
He  rejected  it.  He  condemned  it;  His  condemnation 
is  a  sign  that  He  ranked  it  amongst  the  pomps  of 
the  demon."  Do  not  these  serried  words,  these  three 
phrases   following   close   upon   each   other,    give   the 

'   Idol.    i8. 

2  Ibid.   id.     3  Ibid.   id. 


TKRTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGimCS         107 

impression  of  so  many  blows  beating  human  glory- 
down  into  the  dust? 

The  Church  of  Christ  starts  from  the  Cross.  She 
issues  from  His  heart  pierced  by  the  lance  of  the 
Roman  soldier.  From  the  beginning  she  has  her 
faithful  whom  she  must  teach  and  direct  in  the 
way  of  Christian  virtues;  she  has  her  virgins,  her 
martyrs,  her  repentant  sinners,  her  lukewarm  and 
indifferent  members,  her  persecutors,  or  foes  from 
without,  her  heretics,  or  foes  from  within.  Tertullian 
characterizes  each  class  in  terms  that  comprehend 
his  whole  thought.  He  uses  words  that  are  pithy, 
vigorous,  alive  and  leave  an  impression  on  the 
soul's  inner  depths.  They  are  the  secret  of  his  genius, 
the  unveiling  of  his  soul  of  fire. 

He  warns  the  faithful  that  "their  faith  admits  of 
no  necessity,  necessity  to  please  men,  to  keep  their 
fortunes,  to  preserve  their  lives,  since  there  is  for 
them  only  one  necessity  which  is  not  to  sin."-  He 
warns  them  that  "martyrdom  is  a  debt  of  their 
faith ";^  that  "they  must  buy  with  their  blood  the 
freedom  to  profess  Christianity";^  that  "penance 
is  the  science  of  humbling  man";-*  that  fear  is  the 
instrument  of  penance;  that  gravity  is  the  com- 
panion   and   the    necessary   protection   of   modesty;^ 

^  Coron.  11:  "  Non  admittit  status  fidei  necessitates. 
Nulla  est  necessitas  delinquendi,  quibus  una  est  necessitas 
non  deliquendi."v 

^  Scorp.    8:     "  Debitricem    martyrii   fidem." 

^  Fug.    12. 

^   Poenit.    9:     "Prosternendi    et   humilificandi    disciplina." 

^  II  De  cult.  fern.  8:  "Quo  pacto  pudicitiam  sine  instru- 
ment© suo,   id   est,   sine   gravitate   tractabimus." 


io8        TERTULUAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICvS 

that  charity  is  the  only  treasure  of  Christians.' 
To  the  virgins  he  says:  "It  is  not  without  reason 
that  a  veil  is  given  you.  It  is  a  rampart  of  modesty 
which  must  keep  back  your  eyes  and  exclude  those 
of  others."^  To  the  Martyrs  confined  in  prison  he 
shows  that  the  world  itself  is  a  great  prison  and  the 
worst  of  all.  "There  is  no  darker  prison  than  the 
world  where  so  many  errors  dispel  the  light;  none 
that  contains  more  criminals,  since  there  are  as 
many  criminals  as  there  are  men.  No  irons  are 
heavier  than  the  world's,  since  souls  themselves 
are  chained  by  them;  no  dungeon  is  littered  with 
more  filth  by  the  uncleanliness  of  so  many  sins 
and  beastly  lusts.  So  it  is,  O  Martyrs,  that  those 
who  snatch  you  away  from  the  world,  while  deeming 
that  they  are  imprisoning  you,  are  freeing  you  from 
the  most  unbearable  captivity. "^  This  thought  and 
its  expression  are  noteworthy  for  they  illustrate 
clearly  the  method  of  TertuUian's  style.  He  leads, 
or  rather  drives,  his  thought  by  sharp  and  virorous 
strokes.  He  stops  only  when  he  has  reached  the 
goal;  nay,  sometimes  even  carried  away  by  his 
own  impetus  and  speed,  he  overruns  the  limits. 
What  is  true  of  his  thought  must  also  be  true  of  the 
words  which  express  and  the  conclusions  which  flow 
from  it.  In  the  present  case,  he  presents  first  dark- 
ness, then  chains,  and  lastly  filth  and  dirt.  Darkness 
is  a  painful  privation;    chains  are  an  acute  suffering 

'   Pat.    II  :     "  Christianni  hominis  thesaurus." 
^  De  Virg.  vel.   i6:    "Vallum  verecundiae  quod   nee   tuos 
emittat  oculos,   nee  admittat  alienos." 

3  Mart.  2:  "Maiores  tenebras  habet  mundus  quae 
hominum  praecordia  excaecant;  graviores  catenas  induit 
mundus  quae  ipsas  animas  hominum  constringunt;  peiores 
immunditias  expirat  mundus,  libidines  hominum,  etc." 


TKRTULIJAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS        109 

and  humiliation.  Note  the  verbs  which  characterize 
these  three  phases  of  his  thought.  "  Habet  .  .  .  prae- 
cordia  excaecant" — darkness  encircles  the  world, 
blinding  the  heart;  "induit  .  .  .  ipsas  animas  con- 
stringunt" — chains,  like  a  garment  rough  and  tight- 
fitting  bind  the  very  soul;  "immunditias  expirat 
mundus" — this  filth  lies  in  the  world  like  an  infec- 
tious abcess  in  the  body  and  exhales  unbearable 
odors.  Mark,  moreover,  the  conclusion,  or  rather 
the  conclusions:  "the  persecutors  believe  they  have 
imprisoned  you;  in  very  truth  they  have  freed  you."' 
Our  only  business  in  this  world  is  to  get  out  of  it 
as  soon  as  possible.^  To  the  Martyrs  he  says  that 
they  are  Christians,  and  that  Christians  are  a  class 
of  men  destined  to  death  ;^  that  the  blood  they  are 
going  to  shed  is  the  seed  of  Christians;-^  that  there  is 
a  crown  for  each  of  their  wounds,  a  palm  for  every 
drop  of  their  blood,  and  more  victories  than  blows. ^ 
This  impetuous  genius  Ifinds  sweet  and  tender 
w^ords  of  advice  to  encourage  repentant  sinners. 
Rugged  souls  like  his,  when  moved,  find  accents  of 
peculiar  tenderness.  In  his  treatise  on  Penance,  he 
depicts  Jesus  lifting  the  poor  stray  sheep  to  His 
shoulders,  and  this  is  the  reason  given  by  Divine 
Charity:  "For  wandering  away,  the  poor  sheep 
has  grown  exceeding  weary" — "  Multum  enim 
errando  laboraverat."^    When  he  addresses  the  soul 

^  Mart.  2. 

^  Apol.  41:    "Nihil  nostra  refert  in  hoc  aevo,  nisi  de  eo 

« 

quam    celeriter   excedere." 

^  Spect.    i:     "Christiani,    destinatum    morti    genus." 

^  Apol.  50:    "Semen  est  sanguis  christianorum." 

^  vScorp.   6:     "Corona  premit  vulnera;     palma  sanguinem 

obscurat;     plus  victoriarum   quam  iniuriarum." 
^   Pocnit.    8. 


iro        TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS 

in  the  state  of  sin,  he  becomes  tender:  "Be  of  good 
cheer,  penitent  soul,  think  well  of  the  place  (heaven) 
where  there  is  rejoicing  over  thy  conversion."^ 
That  converted  souls  fear  to  offend  God  again,  he 
describes  with  exquisite  pathos.  "It  does  not  wish 
once  more  to  burden  the  divine  mercy.  "^  The  luke- 
warm and  the  indifferent  are  branded:  "Creatures 
blown  about  by  every  wind,  Christians,  if  you  will 
call  them  so;  men  ever  wavering,  tossed  by  contrary 
winds  and  ever  changing  because  lacking  conviction. "^ 

To  Scapula,  Proconsul  of  Africa,  and,  in  his 
person,  to  all  the  persecutors  of  the  Christian  name 
who  employ  threats,  chains,  prisons,  v/ild  beasts, 
fire  and  the  sword  to  make  apostates,  he  addresses 
words  sublime,  humble  and  simple.  "Non  te 
terremus,  qui  nee  timemus."^ — We  are  not  thinking 
of  frightening  thee,  who  fear  thee  not. 

His  indignation  bursts  out  vehement,  sincere  and 
deep  against  the  heretics  who  are  destroying  the 
unity  of  the  Church  and  belittling  the  truth.  To 
Marcion  he  says:  "Jesus  is  all  wisdom;  all  light 
all  truth,  why  do  you  halve  Him  with  a  lie?"^ 

The  Catholic  Church,  who  follows  her  course 
amidst  persecutions  and  heresies,  and  who  will  follow 
it  unimpeded  to  the  end  of  ages,  he  calls:  "the  true 
temple   of   God,   for   she   is   the   only   temple   where 

^  Poenit.  8:  "Heu,  tu  peccator,  bono  animo  sis:  vides 
ubi  de  tuo  reditu  gaudeatur." 

^  Poenit.  7:  "Nolunt  iterum  divinae  misericordiae  oneri 
esse. 

•  3  Scorp.     i:     "Plerosque    in     ventum,     et     si     placuerit, 
christianos." 

'*  Scap.  4. 

^  Carn.  Christi,  5:  "Quid  dimidias  mendacio  Christum? 
Totus  Veritas  fuit." 


TKRTULUAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS        in 

Christ  is  worshipped  according  to  his  will  in  spirit 
and  truth. "^ 

Christ  will  one  day  judge  the  living  and  the  dead. 
If  divine  Providence  is  thought  by  men  to  delay 
this  judgment  too  much,  to  postpone  the  rewarding 
of  the  just  and  the  punishment  of  the  wicked,  Ter- 
tullian  gives  an  answer,  every  word  of  which  is 
worth  pondering  over.  "He  who  once  for  all 
appointed  an  eternal  judgment  at  the  world's  close, 
does  not  precipitate  the  separation  which  is  essential 
to  judgment.  Meanwhile,  he  deals  with  all  sorts 
of  men  alike,  so  that  all  together  may  share  His 
favors  and  reproofs.  His  will  is  that  the  outcast 
and  the  elect  should  have  adversity  and  prosperity 
in  common.  The  last  judgment  will  come  in  its  own 
time."^  How  can  such  a  scene  be  described?  Such 
a  description  is  beyond  the  writer's  power.  The 
only  thing  he  remarks  is  that  God  will  speak  and 
man  will  listen.  He  says  so  in  simple  w^ords  which 
contrast  vividly  with  the  solemn  grandeur  of  the 
closing  of  time  and  the  opening  of  eternity.  "Alan 
will  stand  before  the  courts  of  God  without  a  word 
to  say. "3 

Such  is  the  soul  of  Tertullian,  such  is  his  thought, 
such  is  his  style — a  soul,  a  thought  and  a  style  of 
fire;  a  soul,  a  thought  and  a  style  Christianly  warlike. 
For  the  first  time  the  Latin  language  gave  voice  to 
Christian  ideas  with  such  force  and  with  such  depth. 

^   "CathoHcon  Dei  templum." 

^  Apol.  41:  "Qui  semel  aeternum  iudicium  destinavit 
post  saeculi  finem,  non  praecipitat  discretionem  iudicii, 
ante  saeculi  finem.  Aequalis  est  interim  super  omne  hominum 
genus,  et  indulgens  et  increpans;  communia  voluit  esse  et 
commoda  profanis  et  incommoda  suis." 
^   Test.  An  6:    "Rt  stabit  ante  aulas  Dei,  nihil  habens  dicere." 


112        TKRTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

HIS    ORIGINALITY. 

Summary — Tertullian  little  accredited  for  originality. — I. 
Influence  of  previous  literature:  pagan  sources;  Christian 
apologists;  the  spirit  of  his  apologetics  in  St.  Paul,  Justian, 
Tatian;  the  argument  of  prescription  in  Paul,  Papias  and 
Irenaeus. — II.  Originality:  of  his  thought;  of  his  method, 
the  argument  of  prescription  strengthened;  a  style  of  his 
own. — More  original  because  more  personal. 

Tertullian  is,  as  a  rule,  given  little  credit  for  origi- 
nality. "His  special  gift,"  says  Harnack,  "lies  in  the 
power  to  make  impressive  what  he  had  received  form 
tradition,  to  give  it  its  proper  form  and  to  gain  for 
it  new  currency."'  While  this  is  meant  to  apply 
to  the  theological  works  of  Tertullian  as  a  whole, 
it  reflects  to  a  certain  extent  the  prevailing  im- 
pression that  the  apologist  added  but  little  if  any 
to  the  body  of  thought  already  existing.  It  is, 
however,  readily  conceded  that  he  invigorated  the 
traditional  by  giving  it  the  glow  and  warmth  of  his 
inimitable  style.  No  doubt,  the  writings  of  Tertullian 
embody  to  a  great  extent  the  ideas  afloat  in  his  time — 
a  fact  observed  even  by  his  contemporaries.  St. 
Jerome  tells  us  that  Tertullian's  Apologeticum  and 
his   Ad   Nationes   contain    all   the   erudition   of   the 

^  Encyclop.   Britann.   s.   v.   Tertullian 


TERTULLTAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS        113 

age/  Vincent  of  Lerins  admires  the  great  facility 
with  which  TertiilHan  had  assimilated  the  numerous 
systems  of  philosophy  which  he  sets  forth  in  his 
works;-  and  according  to  Lactantius,  he  was  versed 
in  all  kinds  of  literature.' 

Numerous,  indeed,  are  the  sources  from  which 
he  quotes  or  to  which  he  refers  in  his  writings.  He 
was  well  acquainted  with  all  that  was  of  value  in 
the  poets,  the  historians  and  the  philosophers  of 
Greece  and  Rome.-^  Varro's  treatises  on  religious 
and  historical  antiquities,  which  Aulus  Gellius  cites 
often  as  authoritative,  were  of  much  use  also  to 
Tertullian.  It  was  natural,  therefore,  that  in  setting 
forth  the  systems  of  the  pagan  religion,  then  much 
discussed,  Tertullian  should  choose  a  ground  which 
his -adversaries  would  consider  common.  "I  have 
taken  and  abridged  the  works  of  Varro,  he  says, 
"for  he,  in  his  treatise  'Concerning  Divine  Things,' 
collected  out  of  ancient  digests,  has  shown  himself 
to  be  a  serviceable  guide. "^  He  is  also  referred  to 
in  the  Apologeticum/'  Chapter  XLVI  containing  a 
great  variety  of  details  concerning  the  life  of  the 
Philosophers.  These  same  stories  are  found  in 
Tatian,  and  it  is  commonly  held  that  Tertullian 
borrowed  them  from  Tatian's  address  to  the  Greeks. 
It  is  not  necessary,  however,  to  have  recourse  to 
this  hypothesis.^  In  the  philosophical  schools  there 
had  arisen  a  plentiful  biographical  literature,  and, 
although    these    primitive    attempts   have    not    been 

^   Epist.    70,   5.     ^   Common.    18,   47.     ^  Inst.   V,    i,    23. 
■'   Apol.   2;  7,   9,    12,    16,  21,   25,  46,  50. 
5   I  Nat.   10;    II,  i;    11,3;     II,  9;    II,   12-13;    Apol.   14. 
^   Puech,   Recherches  sur  Tatien,   p.  40. 


114         TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

preserved,  we  know  their  nature  from  the  works  of 
Suetonius  and  Diogenes  Laertius/  Tertullian,  who 
possessed  a  wide  knowledge  of  all  that  concerned 
Philosophy,  could  not  have  ignored  these  details 
which  would  certainly  have  appealed  to  his  inquiring 
disposition.  Likewise,  there  is  little  doubt  that,  in 
his  attacks  on  Mythology,  he  is  dependent  on  pagan 
writers.  He  asserts  that  Seneca  had  been  even  more 
bitter  against  the  Gods  than  against  the  Christians.^ 
Though  not  one  source  can  be  precisely  determined, 
these  authors  could  not  have  been  passed  unnoticed 
or  have  left  *no  trace  on  his  mind. 

The  subject  he  had  to  treat  brought  him  naturally 
into  contact  with  the  Christian  literature  of  his 
time. 3  He  had  known  Justin,  the  Philosopher, ^ 
Miltiades,5  and  Irenaeus,^  and  the  very  calumnies 
that  had  been  urged  in  their  time  against  the 
Christians  were  urged  now.  In  setting  forth  Christian 
doctrine,  he  was  bound  to  follov,^  tradition.  Tatian, 
who  em.ancipated  himself  from  the  influence  of 
Justin,  had  fallen  into  heresy.  These  conditions 
made  it  incumbent  on  Tertullian  to  read  the  preceding 
Apologists  and,  in  a  sense,  to  follow  them.  He  often, 
however,  developes  wiiat  is  merely  indicated  in  Justin, 
as,  for  example,  the  latter's  assertion  that  the  Pagan 
condemnation  of  the  Christians  was  the  condemna- 
tion of  a  name  only.'    He  borrows  from  him  the  theory 

^  Leo,    Die    griechische    romische    Biographie    nach    ihrer 

Titerarischen  Form. 

^  I  Nat.    lo.   lo;    Apol.    12. 

^  De  Test.  an.   i . 

^  Valentin.  5:    "lustinus,  philosophus  et  martyr." 

5  Ibid.       "Miltiades,      ecclesiartim     sophista." 

^  Ibid:       "Ireneus,      omnium      doctrinarum      curiossimus 

explorator."  7  lustin.,  I.  Apol.  2;    TertulL  2  sqq. 


TKRTl"LLIAN   AND   HIS  APOLOGIvTiCvS         115 

of  tiie  Logos/  Justin  before  him  had  asked  for 
regular  legal  procedure  and  had  insisted  that  an 
internal  religion  was  the  sign  of  a  true  religion.^ 

It  must  be  added  that  from  tradition  he  took  more 
than  details.  Even  the  very  spirit  of  his  Apologies 
may  be  found  in  the  writers  of  the  primitive  Church. 
At  that  time,  no  sacred  book,  besides  the  Gospels, 
was  more  read  than  St.  Paul.  In  180,  when  the 
poor  people  of  Scillium  were  brought  to  Carthage 
for  trial  and  execution,  they  had  with  them  the 
Gospel  Books  and  the  Epistles  of  Paul,  the  Just.^ 
It  is  probable  that  soon  after  his  conversion  these 
works  became  the  favorite  reading  of  Tertullian. 
I'hey  were  then  what  Seneca's  treatises  had  been 
for  him  while  he  was  a  neophyte  in  philosophy.  The 
imperative  nature  of  the  Apostle  could  not  fail  to 
affect  a  strong  and  impressionable  character  like 
our  Apologist.  Neander  has  suggestively  recalled 
the  influence  of  Paul's  paradoxes  on  Tertullians 
mind.^  Not  only  his  later  works,  written  after  he 
had  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures, ^ 
but  even  his  first  Christian  writings,  show  a  perfect 
assimilation  of  Paul's  ideas.  There  is  observable 
in  both  the  same  disdain  for  dialectics,  the  same 
confidence  in  the  demonstrative  pow  r  of  deeds 
and  an  equal  diffidence  in  words.  Tertul  ian,  like 
St.  Paul,  excels  in  emphasizing  the  natural  energy 
contained  in  the  mysteries  qf    his  religion. 

The  same  tendencies  are  easily  noticeable  in  Justin, 


^  lustin.,  I  Apol.  4;    Tertull.  Apol.  21. 

^  Harnack,  Geschichte  dcr  altchr.  Liter.,  I,  p.  100 

^  Passic   Scillitan.    (edit.    Robinson). 

'^  Antignosticus,    p.    174. 

5  Oehler's  Index   Scripturarum. 


/ 


2- 


ri6        TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS 

another  converted  Jew,  though  he  was  a  man  of 
very  different  nature.  Renan  has  gone  so  far  as  to 
say  that  Justin's  system  of  apologetics  rests  entirely 
on  moral  proofs.  Though  this  opinion  is  undoubtedly 
exaggerated,  it  remains  true  that  many  of  Tertullian's 
ideas  are  found  in  the  Greek  Apologist.^  Thus,  Justin 
attributes  the  persecutions  to  the  wicked  lives  of 
the  Pagans;^  he  claims  that  worthy  interior  dis- 
positions are  necessary  for  understanding  the  truth 
of  the  Christian  religion;^  that  intellect,  without 
uprightness  and  integrity  of  life,  can  not  comprehend 
the  truth.  The  conversion  of  the  world, ^  the  con- 
stancy of  the  martyrs,  5  the  virtuous  lives  of 
Christians,^  are  used  to  prepare  the  minds  of  his 
readers.  He  also  insists  on  the  change  of  life  which 
his  religion  can  produce  upon  those  who  embrace  it.' 

Tatian  explains  the  origin  of  error  in  a  way  some- 
what similar  to  that  of  Tertullian.  It  is  because  man 
is  so  attached  to  the  things  of  earth  that  he  forgets 
or  ignores  the  things  of  heaven.^  Truth  abides 
with  those  who  live  according  to  the  laws  of  God, 
and  is  communicated  by  them  to  all  who  are  dis- 
posed  to  receive  it.^ 

The  argument  of  prescription  itself  is  delineated 
in  St.  Paul — a  fact  which  adds  not  a  little  to  its 
authority.  Indeed,  is  not  the  essence  of  the  whole 
argument  condensed  in  this  personal  appeal?  "If 
you  have  ten  thousand  instructors  in  Christ,  yet 
not  many  fathers.  For  in  Christ  Jesus  by  the  Gospel 
I  have  begotten  you:    wherefore  I    beseech    you,  be 

^  Renan,  Kglise  Chretienne,  p.  306. 

^  I  Apol.  57.     ^   I  Apol.  53.     4  I  Apol.  14.     5   I  Apol.  27. 

^  I  Apol.  28.  Cf.  Athenagoras,  4-10,  37;    Theophilus,  1,2,  7. 

'  I    Apol.    13.       ^  Oratio    ad    Graecos,    5.       '  Ibid.    22. 


TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS        117 

ye  followers  of  me  as  I  also  am  of  Christ."'  "If 
any  man  seem  to  be  a  prophet,  or  spiritual,  let  him 
know  the  things  that  I  write  to  you,  that  they  are 
the  commandments  of  the  Lord."'  This  is  the  very 
test  of  truth  that  TertuUian  found  infallible  and 
taught  so  eloquently  until  a  change  in  his  leading 
idea  made  him  forget  "the  commandments  of  the 
Lord."  Finally,  is  this  not  Tertullian's  impatience 
with  novelties  and  useless  wrangling:  "If  any  man 
seem  to  be  contentious,  we  have  no  such  custom, 
nor  the  Church  of  God."^ 

The  same  line  of  ideas  was  later  adopted  by 
Papias,  a  disciple  of  the  Apostle  John.^  While 
preparing  a  work  on  the  meaning  of  the  Lord's 
sayings,  Papias  made  diligent  inquiries  "about  the 
utterances  of  Andrew  or  Peter  or  Philip  or  Thomas 
or  James  or  any  other  of  the  Disciples  of  Jesus." 
The  truth  contained  in  books  were  in  his  opinion, 
of  much  less  value  than  those  transmitted  by  the 
living  voice.  Some  years  later,  when,  in  order 
successfully  to  refute  the  Gnostics,  it  became 
necessary  to  search  again  into  the  motives  of  faith 
and  agree  upon  infallible  criteria  of  truth,  we  find 
Hegesippus,  on  a  trip  to  Rome,  conducting  a  sort 
of  doctrinal  inquiry  and  joyfully  bearing  testimony 
to  the  unity  of  teaching  among  all  the  Churches. ^ 

Before  Tertullian's  time,  how^ever,  no  one  had 
conceived  more  clearly  and  expressed  more  forcibly 
the  idea  of  Catholic  tradition  than  Irenaeus,  whom 
TertuUian  had  studied  most  carefully.^    "What  need 


'  I   Cor.   IV,    15.     'I  Cor.  XIV,  37      ^   I   Cor.  XI,   16. 

''  Eusebius,   H.   E.   HI,   xxxix,   4. 

5  Ibid.   id.   IV,   xxii. 

^  Labriolle,  Tertullien,  de  Praesc.  Haeret.  p.  xxi. 


ii8        TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

is  there  to  seek  for  truth  without  the  Church  when 
it  is  so  easy  to  find  within.  As  a  rich  man  lays  his 
money  into  a  bank,  so  the  Apostles  have  deposited 
in  the  Church  the  perfect  fulness  of  truth.  Who- 
soever desires  it,  needs  but  draw  from  her  the  life- 
cjving  draught;  all  outside  of  her  are  deceivers  and 
robbers.  If  any  question  become  a  source  of  dissen- 
sion, recourse  must  be  had  to  the  oldest  Churches, 
those  in  which  the  Apostles  lived,  and  the  debate 
should  be  settled  by  the  light  which  these  Churches 
afford.  Had  they  left  us  no  written  tests,  ought 
we  not  to  have  followed  the  order  of  tradition 
bequeathed  by  the  Apostles  to  those  into  whose 
hands  they  committed  the  Churches?"'  Irenaeus 
also  wrote:  "We  can  trace  the  list  of  Bishops 
instituted  by  the  Apostles,  and  of  their  successors 
down  to  our  days.  They  knew  and  taught  nothing 
like  the  follies  of  heretics.  For  if  the  Apostles  had 
possessed  hidden  mysteries  which  they  would  have 
taught  to  a  select  few  without  imparting  them  to 
the  rank  and  file  of  Christians,  undoubtedly  they 
would  have  transmitted  these  secrets  in  preference 
to  those  to  whom  they  confided  the  Churches."^ 
He  farther  showed  that  the  tradition  of  the  Apostles 
lived  in  all  the  Churches,  especially  those  of  Rome, 
of  Smyrna  and  of  Ephesus.  No  doubt,  long  before 
Tertullian,  there  was  current  in  the  Christian  com- 
munity the  idea  of  a  depositum  fidei,  consisting  of  a 
few  basic  principles  ever  and  everywhere  the  same 
in  the  Catholic  world,  handed  down  unchanged  by 
the  Apostles,  the  direct  heirs  of  Christ,  to  the 
Bishops  who  succeeded  them. 

'  Adv.    Haer.    Ill,    iv,    i. 
'  Adv.   Haer.   III.  3- 


TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS        119 

Notwithstanding  these  and  other  less  important 
similarities  between  Tertullian's  ideas  and  the  ideas 
of  the  writers  who  had  preceded  him,  no  one  can 
fail  to  recognize  the  genuine  originality  of  his  thought. 
His  method,  his  style,  the  development  of  his  thought 
in  his  life  as  well  as  in  his  writings,  give  him  a  place 
above  the  Greek  Apologists.  What  had  converted 
Justin  was  the  inner  satisfaction  of  finding  in  the 
Christian  religion  not  only  life  but  also  a  plausible 
and  complete  system  of  answers  to  the  many  questions 
about  God  and  the  w^orld  which  he  had  asked  himself. 
Accordingly,  in  his  endeavors  to  draw  others  to  the 
truth,  and,  perhaps,  to  meet  at  the  same  time  the 
demands  of  those  whom  he  addressed,  he  had 
attempted  to  present  his  convictions  respecting  the 
established  order  as  in  harmony  with  reason,  the 
data  of  which  it  confirmed  and  completed.'  He 
had  set  forth  the  doctrines  which  could  be  recon- 
ciled with  those  of  the  great  schools  of  Philosophy: 
the  unity  of  God,  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  the 
moral  law  and  its  sanction  in  another  life.  If,  per- 
chance, he  spoke  at  all  of  Christian  mysteries,  it 
was  to  show  them  as  being  but  little  different  from 
certain  beliefs  of  paganism.  Christianity  set  forth 
in  this  light  appeared  as  a  good  expression  of 
exalted  human  wisdom,  as  an  expurgated  religion 
similar  in  many  points  to  other  well  known  religions. 
When  the  pagans  had  been  thus  intellectually 
prepared,  the  proofs  of  the  prophecies,  of  Christian 
morality,   and  of  the  cult  were  set  before  them. 

Tertullian  may  be  said  to  have  followed  the 
reverse  process.  Instead  of  starting  with  the  expo- 
sition of  objective  truths  and  endeavoring  to  force 

'  I  Apol.  1 1 -13. 


I20        TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS 

them  upon  unwilling  minds,  he  appeals  directly 
to  the  very  heart  of  man.  He  lays  bare  before  him 
all  the  wildness  of  his  passions  so  fierce  and  nat 
controlled,  in  fact  wholly  unimproved  by  the  pagan 
religion.  He  shows  him  disorder  rampant  in  every 
phase  of  his  life,  and  thus  forces  him  to  acknowledge 
that  something  is  radically  wrong  in  his  interior, 
that  he  is  suffering  from  maladies  which  the  remedies 
he  is  using  can  not  cure.  When  he  is  thus  disposed 
to  learn,  Tertullian  shows  him  how  in  other  men 
remedies  are  applied  the  healing  power  of  which 
is  sovereign.  He  describes,  in  glowing  terms,  the 
health,  the  strength,  the  beauty  and  the  peace 
which  prevail  in  souls  governed  by  a  God-given 
law.  The  consciousness  of  his  own  wretchedness 
and  the  recognition  of  the  happier  state  of  the 
Christian  impel  the  pagan  to  look  more  closely 
into  the  worth  of  what  is  presented  to  him  as  the 
true,  and  the  only  true,  religion.  This  effort  of  mind 
and  soul  is  the  beginning  of  conversion.  As  soon 
as  he  begins  to  examine  what  he  has  hated,  he 
ceases  to  hate  it.^  When  he  is  free  from  the  preju- 
dices of  the  schools  and  from  the  tyranny  of  passion, 
he  is  bidden  to  look  into  his  own  soul,  and  there 
he  finds,  wrought  into  its  very  texture,  the  beliefs 
and  aspirations  which  constitute  the  essence  of  the 
Christian  religion.  So,  whether  he  studies  his  own 
life  or  the  lives  of  those  who  live  in  the  order  of 
nature,  he  is  confronted  with  the  body  of  beliefs 
proper  to  Christians.  Powerful  are  the  voices  which 
call  him  to  the  truth.  Those  from  without  lead 
him  to  listen  to  those  within,  and  the  response  is 
felt  in  his  life.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  insist  on 
^  Apol.  I. 


TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS         121 

the  solid  originality  of  these  thoughts  at  the  time  of 
Tertullian.  We  shall  understand  it  better  still  if 
we  consider  the  mentality  to  which  these  thoughts 
were  directed.  The  pagans  of  those  days  were  not 
generally  given  to  Metaphysics/  We  have  good 
reason  to  think  that  Justin  would  have  achieved 
more  good  had  he  written  for  the  common  people, 
but,  no  doubt,  in  his  personal  intercourse  with  the 
ordinary  citizen,  he  altered  somewhat  the  tendency 
of  his  Apologetics.  As  it  was  his  task  to  appeal  to 
philosophers,  he  had  to  use  philosophical  methods. 
Yet  the  masses  of  the  people  at  that  time  wanted 
and  needed  a  religion  of  the  heart  as  well  as,  or  more 
than,  one  of  the  intellect.  Moreover,  their  minds 
were  weary  with  the  problems  that  had  busied  their 
fathers  and  their  forefathers.^  We  have  in  Coecilius, 
one  of  the  personages  in  the  Octavius  of  Minutius 
Felix,  a  typical  pagan  of  that  period.  Reason  for 
him  is  powerless;  man  can  not  know  the  truth ;^ 
the  world  seems  to  be  a  fortuitous  composition  of 
unknowable  things.  ->  Yet  he  clings  to  tradition. 
As  he  passes  before  a  statue  of  vSerapis,  he  salutes 
it  and  bestows  the  customary  kiss.^  Thus  two 
dispositions  meet  in  him:  an  utter  scepticism,  and 
an  apparently  baseless  mysticism.  It  is  not  reason 
that  convinces  him  that  Serapis  is  a  true  God.  He 
pays  him  his  daily  homage  because  the  gods  are 
recognized  by  the  common  consent  of  all  people 
and  by  practical  necessity,  for  to  them  the  Romans 
owe  their  grandeur  and  their  power.  The  Roman 
Stoics  themselves  knew  well  that  such  was  the 
common  feeling  in  the  Empire.    Unlike  the  Platonists, 

^   Ebert,  op.  cit.  pref. 

'  Ebert,  1.  c.     3   Octav.  V,  4.     ^  Ibid.  V,  5.     ^  ibid.  II,  4. 


122        TERTULUAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETICS 

of  whom  Apuleius  is  an  example,  or  even  unlike  the 
Greek  Stoics,  they  talk  but  little  metaphysics.^ 
Nothing  is  more  wavering  than  Seneca's  doctrine 
about  the  gods  and  the  future  life.^  Their  efforts 
aimed  at  teaching  morality,  and  at  teaching  it  not 
by  abstract  principles,  but,  as  much  as  possible, 
by  showing  its  naturalness  to  the  human  heart. ^ 
Such  was  the  secret  of  their  influence.  It  was  an 
affair  of  practice,  not  of  speculation.  The  great 
originality  of  Tertullian  consists  in  this,  that  he 
understood  this  fact  and  labored  to  satisfy  the  needs 
and   yearnings   of   those   whom  he   addressed. 

He  is  no  less  original  in  the  choice  of  a  method 
which  should  exactly  suit  the  minds  of  his  readers 
and  w^hich  would  thus  serve  to  diffuse  his  ideas. 
Assertions  of  an  abstract  nature  like  those  of  Justin 
could  produce  but  little  effect  upon  intellects  wearied 
of  philosophical  speculation.  Series  of  arguments 
might  delight  some  but  would  convince  none.  The 
best  and  only  way  of  changing  hearts  was  to  give 
facts  and  to  present  them  in  the  manner  in  which 
they  would  make  the  strongest  appeal.  Since  there 
is  in  us  the  desire  for  precise  and  well  proven 
statements,  nothing  should  be  advanced  without 
the  authority  which  guarantees  its  existence  and 
value.  As,  of  all  facts,  those  which  take  place  within 
the  sanctuary  of  the  soul  have  a  more  persuasive 
virtue  than  others,  Tertullian  endeavored  to  find 
in  the  life  of  his  adversaries  glimpses  of  motives, 
of  feelings  and  of  desires  to  which  they  would  not 
think    of    giving    expression.     To    his    readers,    dis- 

^  Picavet,  in  Grande  Encyclopedie,  s.  v.  Stoiques  a  Rome. 
^  Boissier,   La  Religion  Romaine,  vol.  II,   p.  65. 
^  Picavet,  Les  philosophies  Medievales,  p.  53. 


TERTULLIAN   AND   HIS  APOLOGKTICvS        123 

abused  of  the  notion  that  metaphysics  can  solve 
everything,  and  deeply  convinced  that  their  mere 
intelligence  could  not  attain  to  all  truth,  he  proved 
that  the  soul  of  man,  by  its  very  nature,  needs  and 
seeks  the  truth.  How  much  fuller  is  this  appeal 
than  Justin's,  or  Tatian's  constant  reference  to  the 
seminal  principles  which  pervade  the  world  and 
which  are  found  in  the  writings  of  certain  philosophers 

Nor  is  Tertullian's  treatment  of  the  argument 
of  prescription  purely  a  rehearsing  of  ideas  current 
in  his  day.  It  is  true  that  he  does  not  discard  the 
arguments  already  used  by  previous  Apologists,  but 
his  personal  skill  and  method  inform  these  with  new 
solidity  and  brilliancy.  Simple  comparison  of  the 
above-cited  texts  of  Ireneus  with  the  De  Praescriptione 
Haereiicorum"  will  bear  this  out.  The  Greek  author 
indeed  has  original  views,  but  they  are  like  glimpses 
of  a  truth  the  depths  of  which  he  does  not  seem 
anxious  to  sound  and  which,  after  a  bare  statement, 
he  abandons  to  follow  again  the  trodden  path. 
Tertullian  on  the  contrary,  brings  to  the  expressing 
and  reinforcing  of  that  thought  all  the  resources  of 
his  patient  and  searching  dialectics;  he  digs  down 
to  its  root,  views  it  in  all  its  various  aspects,  and 
strengthens  it  with  reasonings  that  do  not  fail  to 
carry  full  conviction  to  the  minds  of  the  readers.^ 

The  originality  of  Tertullian's  style  has  rarely 
been  questioned.  Being  the  expression  of  a  living 
and  energetic  soul,  it  mirrors  faithfully  all  the 
stirrings  and  passions  of  that  soul.  Even  when 
compared  with  pagan  writings  of  the  same  century, 
his  apologetic  w^orks  occupy  the  place  of  honor  as 
a  literary  effort,  and  they  surpass  by  far  all  previous 

^  Labriolle,   1.   c.    p.     xxiii. 


124        TERTULLIAN   AND   HIvS  APOLOGETICvS 

Christian     writings     in     rigorous     logic,     oratorical 
movement   and   imaginative   power/ 

Tertullian  may  be  said  to  have  created  the  language 
and  the  style  into  which  Christian  thought  was  to 
be  moulded  for  centuries  after  him.  St.  Cyprian, 
St.  Augustine,  St.  Ambrose  and  St.  Jerome  will 
merely  adapt  their  peculiar  traits  to  the  sturdy 
originality  of  the  African  Polemist.^ 

The  great  source  of  all  his  gifts  and  the  secret 
of  his  superiority  is  his  personality.  From  it  flow 
naturally  his  life,  his  thought  and  that  vivid  form 
.in  which  they  are  presented.  No  writer  of  the  same 
century,  and  few  Christian  writers  after  him,  can 
be  said  to  have  been  more  personal — more  originaK 

'    Moiiceaux,  op.  cit.  vol.    I,  passim.     -  Ibid,  id.,  p.  560. 


TKRTULLIAN  AND  HIvS  APOLOGETICS        125 


CHAPTER  IX. 

TERTULLIAN   AND   THE   EFFECTS   OF   HIS   APOLOGETICS. 

Summary  — I.  General  characterization  of  his  life,  thought 
and  writings:  Christian  with  his  whole  soul. — IT.  His 
influence  on:  the  pagans,  his  contemporaries;  Minucius 
Felix;  Caprian;  A.rnobius;  Lactantius;  Novatian;  Jerome; 
the  Christian  poets;  Augustine;  Vincent  of  Lerins;  tempo- 
rary oblivion  during  the  Middle  Ages;  Duns  Scotus;  revival 
of  interest  in  Tertullian  during  the  Renaissance  and  the 
Reformation;  Bossuet  and  Pascal;  modern  interpretations 
and  misinterpretations  of  his  thought;  the  School  of 
Immanence. — Conclusion. 

Harnack  has  in  a  few  words  happily  characterized 
the  personality  of  Tertullian.  "What  he  was,  he 
was  with  his  whole  being.  Once  a  Christian,  he 
was  determined  to  be  so  with  all  his  soul."  This  is 
quite  as  true  of  his  thought  as  of  his  life.  His  apolo- 
gies and  his  treatise  De  Praescriptione  Hereticorum, 
written  while  he  was  yet  free  from  the  extreme 
of  a  later  period,  perfectly  illustrate  this  harmony. 
His  whole  life,  intellectual  and  social,  centres  around 
his  religion.  In  truth,  he  does  not  conceive  the 
possibility  of  a  perfect  life  outside  of  the  religion 
of  Christ.  For  him  the  soul  is  naturally  Christian. 
This  general  conception  is  fostered  and  enriched  by 
the  very  dissimilar  qualities  which  blend  in  his 
soul:  the  deepest  pathos  with  an  extraordinary 
harshness;     the    gift    of    intuition,    and    a    singular 


126        TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

talent  for  serried  reasoning;  fervent  mysticism,  and 
a  burning  desire  to  influence  other  men;  a  spon- 
taneous flow  of  language,  and  the  love  of  stylistic 
devices.  All  these  may  be  said  to  have  been  em- 
ployed solely  in  the  defence  of  his  religious  belief. 
His  mind  passed  through  several  phases  determined 
by  these  natural  qualities  and  by  the  circumstances 
into  which  he  was  thrown.  In  his  early  years,  he 
was  influenced  by  opposing  currents;  one  of  corrupt 
individualism,  the  other  of  staunch  Romanism. 
Literature  left  in  his  mind  certain  impressions  and 
ideals  which  were  not  to  be  obliterated.  Later  on 
vv^hen  the  life  of  his  times  allured  him,  his  early 
notions  of  the  true  and  the  good  saved  him  from 
utter  degradation.  When  disgust  both  of  sensual 
and  intellectual  pleasures  mastered  him,  he  took 
a  transient  interest  in  the  philosophy  of  the  Stoics. 
But  it  was  in  the  Christian  religion  that  he  found 
his  full  and  permanent  satisfaction.  There  he  dis- 
covered a  unifying  principle  for  his  life  and  for  the 
life  of  his  fellowmen.  His  personal  evolution  and  the 
needs  of  the  times  brought  him  to  defend  his  religion. 
He  did  so  by  seeking  in  man  the  true  religion.  He 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  life  was  not  the  corollary 
of  religion,  but  rather  religion  the  corollary  of  life. 
If  questioned  about  the  foundation  of  his  teaching, 
he  would  say:  "the  most  eloquent  and  credible 
witness  of  the  truth  is  the  Christian  himself.  Con- 
version to  the  truth,  then,  does  not  consist  in  the 
mere  adhesion  of  the  mind  to  a  doctrine,  but  in  the 
emendation  of  life.  Philosophy,  as  Philosophers 
practice  it,  is  lifeless  and  worthless.  By  severing 
itself  from  virtue  and  humility,  it  turns  from  truth. 
Life  suffices  to  go  to  God.    Life  and  truth  once  found 


TKRTULIJAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGKTICS        127 

are  not  to  be  further  sought  for.  Curiosity  and  pride 
pride  are  the  born  enemies  of  life  and  truth.  Tradition 
sufl:ces  for  the  Christian,  and  outside  of  it  lie  heresy, 
uncertainty,    moral   disorder   and   death." 

The  language  and  the  method  in  which  TertuUian 
couched  such  ideas  were  shaped  according  to  the  end 
in  view.  He  intended  to  awaken  the  minds  of  his 
readers  to  the  truth,  to  bring  them  out  of  the  darkness 
of  pride  and  vice  into  the  bright  light  of  his  religion. 
His  style  and  method  are  carefully  adapted  to  his 
purpose.  On  the  one  hand,  a  subtle  analysis  of  the 
soul,  biting  irony,  graphic  imagery  move  the  imagin- 
ation and  force  the  soul  to  see  itself  as  it  really  is. 
On  the  other  hand,  enthusiasm,  penetrating  axioms, 
glowing  descriptions  of  interior  states  win  the 
feelings  to  the  truth.  Lastly,  all  the  just  demands  of 
the  intellect,  are  satisfied  by  the  irresistable  logic  that 
binds  the  several  arguments  into  a  compact  whole. 

TertuUian  is  thus  essentially  a  Christian.  In  his 
efforts  to  win  others  to  his  conviction,  he  does  not 
resort  to  dialectics  for  their  intrinsic  strength,  but 
his  ideal  of  life,  realized  in  himself  and  those  who 
think  and  live  as  he  does,  is  his  chief  and  strongest 
argument.  All  his  life  and  thought  converge  to  that 
idea  and  draw  from  it  their  originality  and  vitality. 

His  strictly  apologetical  writings  occupy  a  rather 
limited  place  in  the  catalogue  of  his  works.  From 
common  consent,  his  Apologeticum  and  De  Prae- 
scriptione  remain  his  chief  efforts.'    Written  in  the 

'  Encyc.  Britann.  s.  v.  TertuUian;  cf.  also  d'Ales,  op.  cit. 
p.  495:  "II  fut  Chretien,  au  vrai  sens  du  mot,  par  le  coeur 
et  par  I'esprit:  on  n'en  pent  douter,  quand  on  le  voit,  dans 
I'Apologetique,  se  faire  avec  tant  de  plenitude  et    de  verite 


128        TKRTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

fulness  of  his  manhood  and  talent,  they  express  a 
man's  life  lived  for  the  truth.  Unmarred  by  the  faults 
which  chacterize  his  later  literary  productions,  they 
were  destined  to  exercise  a  potent  influence  on 
subsequent  writers.  The  dogmatic  and  ethical  tenets 
peculiar  to  him  won  few  disciples.  Not  so  with  his 
defence  of  Christianity.^ 

We  are  warned  not  to  overestimate  the  importance 
of  the  early  apologetical  writings  as  a  means  of 
spreading  Christianity.  "After  all,  that  which  made 
it  possible  for  the  Church  to  keep  alive  under  perse- 
cuting laws,  to  triumph  over  indifference,  disdain  and 
calumny,  was  neither  reasonings  nor  discourses,  it 
was  that  interior  strength  revealed  and  shining  forth 
in  the  virtue,  the  charity,  the  ardent  faith  of  the 
Christians  of  the  heroic  age."^  If  this  be  true,  then 
of  all  apologies  that  of  TertuUian  was  the  most 
effective  precisely  because  it  lays  stress  on  the 
inner  virtue  of  the  Christian  religion  and  thus 
prepares  the  mind  for  correct  judgment  of  the  facts. 
That  the  Vv^ork  influenced  Christian  circles  is  evi- 
denced by  the  rare  privilege  of  translation  into 
Greek  that  was  granted  it.^    As  Greek  was  at  that 


^  His  influence  on  Patristic  literature  has  been  studied 
by  Harnack  in  "Sitzungberichte  der  Konigl.  Preuss.  Aka- 
demie  der  Wissenschaften  zu  Berlin  (1895),  p.  54.5-579J 
Monceaux,  op.  cit.  p.  459. 

^   Duchesne,  op.  cit.  p.  213. 

^  Eusebius,   H.   E.,   II,   2.  4. 


I'echo  de  la  conscience  chretienne,  dans  le  traite  de  la 
Prescription  revendiquer  si  energiquement  le  magistere 
de  I'Eglise,  et  dans  ses  ecrits  ascetiques  precher  le  detache- 
ment  du   monde  avec  une  onction  si  persuasive." 


TERTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGETlCvS        129 

time  the  language  of  the  Christian  Church,'  a  much 
wider  circulation  was  thus  given  to  the  work.  The 
fact  that  subsequent  Apologists  seldom  quoted  him, 
that  he  was  ordinarily  spoken  of  as  a  dangerous  man, 
as  one  outside  the  Church,  must  lead  no  one  to 
conclude  that  Tertullian"s  writings  exercised  little 
influence  on  later  Christian  literature. 

The  question  of  his  attitude  towards  the  apolo- 
getical  effort  of  Minucius  Felix  is  a  very  obscure  one.^ 
However,  the  dependence  of  the  Octavius  upon  the 
Apologeticum  seems  to  be  the  more  likely  hypothesis. 
Both  works  exhibit  a  singularly  similar  treatment 
of  certain  subjects  such  as  Providence,^  God  and  the 
demons, 4  the  life  of  the  faithful, ^  the  unfair  dealings 
of  judges,^  the  alleged  secret  crimes  of  the  Christians,^ 
the  persecutions  viewed  in  the  light  of  trials,^  martyr- 
dom and  the  resurrection,  ^  the  national  deities  of 
Rome,^°  the  worship  of  Saturn  and  the  human 
sacrifices  in  Africa,"  the  Gods  of  Homer  and  the 
old  legends,"  the  making  of  statues,'^  the  ass's  head^^ 


^  Renan,  op.  cit.  p.  454:  Boissier,  Afrique  Romaine,  p. 
247;    Leclercq,  Afrique  Chretienne,  vol.  T,  p.  91. 

^  Monceaux,  op.  cit.  p.  468;  Harnack,  Chronologic,  vol. 
II,  p.  324-330. 

^  Apol.  26;    Octav.  25. 

^  Apol.    17,   22,   23 — Octav.    18,   26,   27. 

^  Apol.  39;    Octav.  31,  32. 

^  Apol.  2;    Octav.  28. 

'   Apol.  7,  8,  9;    Octav.  9,  30,  31. 

*  Apol.  41 ;     Octav.  36. 

9  Apol.  48,  49,  50;    Octav.  34,  37. 

^°  Apol.   25;     Octav.   25. 

"  Apol.  9,  10;    Octav.  21,  30. 

"  Apol.    14;     Octav.   23. 

^^  Apol.  12;    Octav.  23,  24.     ^-^  Apol.  16;    Octav.  28. 


I30        TERTULUAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

and  the  standard  in  the  shape  of  a  cross.'  In 
all  these  passages,  the  same  ideas  are  found,  the  same 
illustrations,  the  same  words  and,  very  often,  the 
same  method  of  argument.  No  doubt,  Minucius 
Felix  followed  his  model  very  closely,  adding  to  the 
work  his  more  graceful  imagination  and  his  more 
classical   mode   of    expression. 

The  veneration  of  Cyprian  for  TertuUian  is  well 
known. ^  From  the  works  of  his  "master,"  as  he 
often  calls  him,  Cyprian  drew  many  of  his  ideas. 
His  treatise  Quod  idola  dii  non  sint  is  in  parts  a 
mere  summary  of  the  three  chapters  of  the  Apolo- 
geticum  which  deal  with  the  mission  of  Christ  and 
the  prophecies. 3  In  places  even  the  very  phrases 
of  the  original  are  taken  bodily  and  incorporated 
into  the  new  work.  The  same  dependence  is  ob- 
servable in  the  De  Bono  Patientiae,  written  in  256. 
Therein  the  Philosophers  are  attacked;  the  differ- 
ence is  pointed  out  between  the  patience  they  preach 
and  that  which  the  Christians  practice;  the  patience 
of  God  and  of  Christ  are  proposed  as  ideals. ^  Like- 
wise, the  De  Oratione  Dominica  and  the  De  Habitu 
Virginum  differ  very  little  from  the  works  of  the 
master  on  the  same  topics. ^  Nay,  St.  Cyprian 
borrowed  from  TertuUian  almost  his  whole  doctrine 
and  his  method  of  presentation,  his  system  of  Apolo- 
getics, as  is  evident  from  his  Ad  Demetrianum,  and 

^  Apol.  16;    Octav.  29. 

^  Hieron.  de  Vir.  ill.,  53;  Bpist.  84,  2:  "Beatus  Cyprianus 
Tertulliano   magistro  utitur,   ut  eius  scripta   probant." 

3  Apol.  21-23;  Quod  idola  dii  non  sint,  10-15;  Monceaux, 
op.  cit.  vol.  II,  p.  351:  "Le  Quod  idola  dii  non  sint  est  en 
partie  une  mosaique  de  morceaux  pris  dans  rApologetique." 

4  De  Patientia,   i,  2,  3;    de  Bono  patientiae,  2-10. 
^  Monceaux,  1.  c.,  p.  310-31 1. 


TKRTULLIAN  AND   HIS  APOLOGKTICvS        131 

his  tactics  againsts  the  heretics,  as  may  be  observed 
in  the  De  Laps  is  and  the  De  Unitate  Ecclesiae.^  The 
wonder  of  it  all  is  that,  although  in  the  extent  of 
his  imitation  he  is  free  from  the  scruples  experienced 
by  modern  authors,  still  throughout  all  his  works 
there  is  not  a  single  reference  to  TertuUian.  It  has 
been  said  that  he  did  this  out  of  delicacy.^  TertuUian 
having  died  out  of  his  Church,  Cyprian,  the  champion 
of  Catholic  orthodoxy,  could  not  have  quoted  his 
master  without  condemning  his  memory — so  he 
chose  to  be  reticent  about  his  imitation.  Whether 
this  explanation  explains  or  not,  it  remains  true 
that  TertuUian  pursued  his  work  as  an  Apologist 
even  after  his  pen  was  stilled  and  his  voice  was 
hushed. 

Arnobius,  another  African  writer,  has  been  fre- 
quently compared  to  TertuUian. ^  It  is  chiefly  of 
the  latter  that  he  speaks  in  his  Adversus  Nationes, 
"These  accusations,  or  rather  curses,  have  already 
been  met  fully  one  after  the  other  by  eminent  writers 
of  our  party,  who  merited  to  know  the  truth.  Not 
one  point  of  any  question  has  been  left  unanswered, 
the  refutation  being  made  in  a  thousand  ways  and 
by  solid  reasoning. "^  In  fact,  both  writers  have  much 
in  common.  Arnobius  seems  to  have  inherited  from 
his  predecessor  a  natural  disposition  to  belittle  the 
part  of  pure  reason  in  the  acquiring  of  truth.  He, 
too,  emphasizes  the  philosophers'  doubts  and  con- 
tradictions, their  pride  and  their  self-sufficiency. 
He  humbles  them  before  Christ. ^  Like  TertuUian, 
he   can   not   forgive   them   for   reducing   everything 

"■   Ibid.   p.   352.  ^  Ibid,  id. 

3  Pichon,  Hist,  de  la  litter,  lat.  p.  763. 

4  Adv.   Nat.,   Ill,   I.  5  II,   9-    10,    11;    II,   50. 


132        TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

to  reason  and  disregarding  the  simple  fact  of  human 
ignorance  and  the  need  of  faith.  All  the  arguments 
of  the  Apologeticum  and  the  Ad  Nationes  against 
pagan  Mythology  are  reproduced  in  the  Adversus 
Nationes.^ 

Lactantius,  noted  for  his  severity  towards  previous 
Apologists,^  criticized  TertuUian's  style  as  harsh, 
incorrect  and  obscure,  and  thought  that,  although 
he  had  ably  defended  the  Christians,  he  had  but 
poorly  explained  their  tenets. ^  He,  nevertheless, 
made  a  more  liberal  use  of  TertuUian's  writings 
than  he  himself  confessed.  His  favorite  thesis,  that 
Christianity  was  at  once  the  true  religion  and  the 
true  philosophy,  had  many  a  time  been  defended 
by  Tertullian.4  Both  writers  used  like  arguments 
in  their  campaign  against  Polytheism. ^  Finally, 
Lactantius'  expose  of  the  Christian  doctrine  and 
morality  was,  in  its  outlines,  the  very  one  that  he 
had  found  weak, — TertuUian's.^  A  close  study  of 
the  two  authors  reveals  that  the  Institutiones  owes 
a  great  deal  to  the  Apologeticum. 

Novatian  in  propounding  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity  did  not  disdain  to  epitomize  TertuUian.^ 
St.  Jerome,  who  praised  him  with  enthusiasm  and 
to  whom  we  owe  whatever  particulars  we  know  of 
his  life,  borrowed  from  him  most  unscrupulously 
in  his  treatise  Adversus  Jovinianum.^     Rufinus  knew 

^  Monceaux,   op.   cit.   vol.   Ill,   p.   263.     ^  Ibid.   p.   312. 

^   Divin.   Instit.  V,    i,   2,  3;    V,  4.  3. 

4  I  Nat.,  19-20;  Apol.  3,  21,  22,  47,  48,  49;  de  test.  an.  i; 
de  Pall.  6. 

^  Apol.   lo-ii;    I  Nat.   10-16.     ^  Apol.   17-21;    39-49. 

^  Hieron.   de  vir.   ill.   70. 

^  Ibid.  id.  24,  40,  53,  70;  Rpist.  22,  58,  64,  70;  Schultzen, 
Die  Benutzung  der  Schriften  Tertullians  de  Monogamia  unci 


TERTULLTAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS        133 

the  Apologeticum  which  he  sometimes  quoted  from 
the  original.^  Isidore  of  Seville  in  his  Origines, 
reproduced  textually  many  passages  of  TertuUian, 
especially  from  the  Apologeticum  and  the  Ad 
Nationes.^  Even  the  poets  found  inspiration  and 
material  in  his  treatises.  Thus,  the  Apotheoses  and 
the  Hamartigenia  of  Prudentius  are  too  often  but  a 
paraphrase  of  the  Adversus  Praxeas  and  the  Contra 
Aiarcionem.^  Strangely  enough,  his  admiration  for 
his  African  master  led  him  to  refute  heresies  long 
ago  extinct.  Commodianus,  in  the  first  book  of 
his  Instructiones,  drew  from  TertuUian  many  argu- 
ments and  illustrations  tending  to  prove  the  false 
divinity  of  the  idols.  He  versified  his  sarcastic 
remarks  against  Polytheism,  the  attributes  and  the 
adventures  of  the  Gods,  the  temples  and  the 
statues. 4 

Like  Cyprian,  and  perhaps  for  the  same  reason, 
Augustine  never  quoted  TertuUian,  and  did  not  even 
give  him  a  rank  in  his  list  of  the  great  Latin  writers. ^ 
Nevertheless,  the  main  idea  of  the  De  Civitate  Dei 
is  already  in  Tertullians  Apologeticum  and  in  the 
Ad  Nationes.^  Moreover,  the  nature  of  his  personal 
evolution  created  in  him  dispositions  and  tendencies 

^   Hieron.   II  Adv.   Rufin.   8:     Epist.   5. 

^  Klussman,  Excerpta  Tertullianea  in  Isidor.  Hisp. 
Etymol.    (Hamburg,    1892). 

•^   Puech,   Prudence,    (Paris,    18S8)   pp.    174,   245. 

"^  Gennadius,  de  vir.  ill.  15;  Instructiones,  I,  2-21;  cf. 
Monceaux,  op.  cit.  vol.  Ill,  p.  473-476. 

^  August.  De  Doctrin.  Christ.,  40;  Epist.  190,  15  (Cf. 
Prax.   7);    de  Genes,  ad  litt.   25,  41    (Cf.  An.  6,   7). 

^  Civit.    Dei,    7,    I    (Cf.    II    Nat.    9). 

de  leiiifiio  bei  Hieronymus  adversus  lovinianum,  in  Neue 
lahrb.   fiir  deutsche  Theol.,    1894,   p.   485-502. 


J3+        TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

akin  to  those  of  Tertullian.  In  his  De  Utilitate 
Credendi  he  caught  something  of  Tertullian's  spirit. 
His  religion  was  all  in  all  to  him. 

Vincent  of  Lerins  did  not  care  to  be  looked  upon 
as  an  innovator.  His  ambition  was  to  be  guided 
by  the  "Majores,"  and  he  found  safety  in  following 
them  step  by  step.^  This  disposition  made  him  a 
favorable  judge  of  Tertullian,  though  he  deplored 
his  end.  "Among  the  Latins,  he  may  be  considered 
easily  as  the  prince  of  authors  ...  in  him  there  are 
as  many  ideas  almost  as  words;  a  victory  lies  in 
every  sentence."^  He  owed  many  of  his  ideas  to 
the  De  Praescriptione;  truth  comes  before  error 
and,  therefore,  any  newly-born  doctrine  must  be 
branded  as  false  ;^  the  common  agreement  on  many 
a  point  of  teaching  is  in  itself  a  sign  of  lavv^ful 
tradition,  for  untruth  naturally  splits  into  a  hundred 
varieties  of  opinion  ;4  it  is  dangerous  to  discuss  with 
heretics  on  the  Scriptures  ;s  the  falling  off  of  indi- 
viduals should  by  no  means  scandalize  anyone.^ 
The  beautiful  metaphor  of  the  chaff  separated  from 
the  Vv^heat  has  its  origin  in  Tertullian. ^  Entire 
chapters  of  the  Comnionitorinm  are  evidently  inspired 
by  the  De  Prescriptioyie  Hereticoriim^ 

About    that    time    the    works    of   Tertullian    were 

^  Brunetiere   et   Labriolle,   Vincent   de   Lerins,    Tntrod.    p. 

LXIII. 

^  Commonit.  i8:  "Apud  Latinos  nostrorum  omnium 
facile  princeps  iudicandus  est  .  .  .  quot  paene  verba,  tot 
sententiae  sunt;     quot  sensus,  tot  victoriae." 

3   De  Praescr.  21;    Common.  XXXV.  3.     ^  Praescr.  28. 

5  Praescr.    16-19;     Commonit.    i,    2-4. 

^  Praescr.  3;     Common.  XXVIII,  8. 

7   Praescr.   3;     Commonit.   XX,   4. 

^  Brunetiere  et  Labrir.llc,  op.  cit.  p.  LXV-LXVI. 


TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS        13.5 

condemned  by  the  decree  De  Libris  recipiendis  et 
non  recipiendis  attributed  to  Pope  Gelasius/  His 
doctrines  were  considered  dangerous  and  he  seemed 
to  be  entirely  forgotten.'' 

The  Middle  Ages  seem  to  ignore  Tertullian.  St. 
Bernard,  who  sought  the  principles  of  Christian 
life  in  the  Fathers,  in  Ambrose,  Augustine  and 
Gregory,  for  his  spiritual  treatises,  never  mentions 
his  name. 3  This  fact  is  significant.  Yet  in  the 
Middle  Ages,  we  meet  with  apologetical  efforts 
that,  in  a  way,  are  not  unlike  Tertullian's.  Duns 
Scotus  restricted  the  part  of  reason  in  the  conquest 
of  religious  truth.  He  maintained  the  superiority 
of  the  will  over  the  intellect. ^  Though  it  can  not 
be  said  that  there  was  in  any  sense  dependence  of 
the  Mediaeval  theologian  on  the  Apologist  of  the 
third  century,  yet  it  is  interesting  to  note  the  sim- 
ilarity of  tendencies  in  systems  of  thought  emanating 
from  conditions  so  little  alike. 

The  literary  Renaissance  and  the  so-called  religious 
Reformation  brought  Tertullian  again  to  the  front. 
Both  humanists  and  theologians  read  the  writings 
of  the  oldest  of  the  Latin  Fathers,  some  to  satisfy 
their  literary  curiosity,  others  to  find  weapons  for 
the  impending  doctrinal  battle.  In  1597  the  Codex 
Fuldensis,  the  best  manuscript  of  the  Apologeticnm, 
was   copied    by   Junius, ^    and   the   large    number    of 


^   Migne,  Patrol.  Latin,  vol.  LIX.  col.   163. 
^   Monceaux,   op,   cit.   vol.   I.,   p.   459. 
3  Vacandard,  Vie  de  Saint  Bernard,  vol.  I,  p.  456. 
•^  James    Fox,    Scotus    Redivivus,    in    New   York    Review, 
June,    1905,    pp.    33-47- 

5   Callewaert,   loc.   cit.   p.   322. 


136        TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

editions  issued  during  that  period  speaks  eloquently 
of  the  interest  then  taken  in  his  work.^ 

Bellarminus  quoted  him  in  support  of  the  antiquity 
of  the  Church,  of  her  uninterrupted  duration,  of  her 
indefectibility,  of  the  decisive  authority  of  her 
magisterium,  of  the  true  meaning  of  the  text  "super 
hanc  petram,"  and  of  the  Roman  Primacy.^  There 
was  a  tendency  among  polemists  to  apply  to  the 
doctrines  of  Luther  and  Calvin  the  epithets  with 
which  Tertullian  had  branded  the  Gnostics.  Thus 
was  denounced  the  high-handed  freedom  of  the 
Protestants  in  regard  to  the  Scriptures;  thus  was 
condemned   the   intellectuality   of   the   novators.^ 

The  argument  of  prescription  itself  was  revived 
towards  the  middle  of  the  XVI I th  century.  Catholic 
polemists  found  it  a  potent  weapon  against  the 
Protestants  who,  not  unlike  the  Gnostjcs  of  old, 
claimed  to  interpret  the  Scriptures  with  a  systematic 
disregard  of  traditional  exegesis.  Cardinal  Richelieu 
seems  to  have  been  the  first  to  test  the  power  of 
this  argument  in  a  little  controversial  work  published 
after  his  death. — Traite  qui  contient  la  Methode  la 
plus  facile  et  la  plus  assuree  pour  convertir  ceiix  qui 
se  sont  separes  de  I'Eglise,  Paris,  1651.  What  appealed 
most  to  Richelieu  was  the  easy  grasp  which  the  average 
mind,  unfamiliar  with  theological  disputation,  could 
have  on  a  criterion  as  readily  perceived  as  the 
permanence  of  the  Church  since  its  divine  Founder.'* 

^   Cf.   Bibliography   (Editions). 

^  Turmel,  Histoire  de  la  Theologie  Positive  du  Concile 
de  Trente  au  Concile  du  Vatican  (Paris,  1906)  pp.  49,  66, 
126,    127,    141,    163,   224,   226. 

^  Labriolle,  Tertullien,  de  Praescr.  p.  XXXVIII,  to  whom 
we  are  greatly  indebted  for  the  last  part  of  this  chapter. 

4  Labriolle,  loc.  cit.  p.  XXXVIII. 


TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICvS        137 

Bossuet  himself  was  wont  to  search  in  the  Fathers 
for  the  substance  of  rehgion  and  the  sap  of 
Christianity.  The  writings  of  TertulHan  from  the 
first  won  his  genuine  admiration.  He,  too,  could 
have  called  Tertullian  "master."  There  were, 
indeed,  between  the  Latin  Apologist  of  the  early 
Church  and  the  elegant  theologian  of  the  17th 
century,  cognate  tendencies  and,  as  it  were,  intel- 
lectual affinities  which  made  Bossuet  very  frequently 
look  for  and  find  in  Tertullian  the  perfect  expression 
of  his  own  thought.  He  used  to  call  him  "ce  grand 
homme, "  "ce  merveilleux  personnage,"  "ce  docte 
ecrivain,"  "ce  celebre  auteur  ecclesiastique."  He 
repeatedly  spoke  of  his  "beautiful  doctrine,"  of  his 
"sublime  theology"  and  of  his  "learned  principles." 
The  work  he  quoted  most  was  the  Apologeticum.^ 

In  the  summer  of  1643,  Blaise  Pascal,  then  in  the 
solitude  of  Port  Royal,  was,  like  Bossuet  at  Metz, 
studying  the  Fathers.^  It  is  difficult  to  determine 
whether  Tertullian  exerted  a  direct  influence  upon 
the  progress  of  his  thought,  but  there  is  no  doubt 
that  Paschal' s  system  of  defence  of  the  Christian 
doctrine  presents  numerous  analogies  with  the  apolo- 
getical  method  of  Tertullian.  He,  too,  had  to  convince 
those  who,  diffident  of  all  sentiment  and  mysticism, 
pretend  to  arrive  at  the  truth  by  the  intellect  alone. 
To  such  his  answer  was:  "  Le  coeur  a  ses  raisons  que 
la  raison  ne  connait  point.  .  .  .  Je  dis  que  le  coeur 
aime  I'toe  universel  naturellement,  et  soimeme 
naturellement,  selon  qu'il  s'y  adonne;  et  il  se  durcit 
contre  I'un  ou  I'autre  a  son  choix."^    His  opponents 

^   Lebarcq.   oeiivres  Oratoires  de   Bossuet,   passim. 
^  Boutroux,    Pascal,.  Paris,    1900,    p.   91. 
3   Pensees,  edit,  Louandre,  p.  200. 


138        TERTULUAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICvS 

told  him:  "I  would  lead  a  good  life  if  I  had  faith." 
"You  would  have  faith,"  was  the  reply,  "if  you  led 
a  good  life."'  This  idea  and  the  complex  organism 
of  truths  which  foster  it  in  the  mind  of  Paschal 
exhibit  significant  sympathies  of  thought  between 
the  Apologist  of  the  second  century  and  that  of  the 
seventeenth.^  Their  styles,  too,  have  something  in 
common:  vividness  and  passion  blend  with  subtlety 
of  reasoning  and  vigorous  logic. 

The  progress  of  historical  science  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  nineteenth  century  aroused  a  new  interest 
in  the  thought  of  Tertullian.  Each  writer,  of  course, 
studied  his  text  from  a  single  point  of  view  and 
attempted  to  find  in  it  the  verification  of  his 
own  preoccupations — hence  so  many  diverse  inter- 
pretations of  the  same  object  of  study.  Renan  did 
not  think  that  any  compromise  could  be  made 
between  Philosophy  and  Christianity.  The  influence 
of  this  principle  is  felt  in  his  appreciation  of  Ter- 
tullian. He  likes  to  oppose  two  apologetical  methods 
in  the  Church:  the  method  of  which  Justin  was 
the  founder,  and  that  other  first  employed  by  Tatian. 
The  first,  according  to  Renan,  proclaimed  that 
Greek  Philosophy  was  the  preparation  for  Chris- 
tianity, the  ladder  which  led  to  Christ. ^  The  other, 
to  which  Tertullian  adhered,  the  real  Christian 
method,  as  he  calls  it,  was  antagonistic  to  the  lifeless 
foibles  of  the  Hellenic  Apologists  and  dismissed 
them  with  the  disdainful  "Credo  quia  absurdum."4 

'   Pensees,   p.   522.  ^  Ibid.   p.   349. 

^   Renan,   op.   cit.    p.    108. 

^  The  formula  Credo  quia  ahsurdum  is  not  found  in  Ter- 
tullian. Its  equivalent,  however,  can  be  found:  "  Credihile 
est,  quia  ineptum;    certum  est  quia  impossibile  (Carn.  Chr.  5). 


TERTUIXIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS        139 

Such  is  for  Renan  the  essence  of  TertulUan's  thought. 
Absurdity  is  his  criterion  of  truth;  absurd,  he  con- 
cludes, is  Christian  truth.  All  those  who  were 
imbued  with  these  same  ideas  adopted  Kenan's 
interpretation — for  example  V.  Courdaveaux,'  and, 
lately,   Guignebert.^ 

A  closer  examination  of  the  text  has  led  other 
scholars  to  a  widely  different  interpretation.  M. 
Boissier,  in  his  beautiful  work  La  Fin  dit  Paganisme, 
is  authority  for  the  opinion  that  the  Apologetics  of 
Tertullian  are  mainly  juridical  and  political.^  This 
is  commonly  accepted  today.  For  M.  Monceaux 
the  dominant  note  of  the  Apologeticum  is  the  juridical 
discussion;  the  attacks  against  paganism  and  the 
apology  of  the  doctrines  only  strengthen  the  legal 
justification.^ 

The  late  years  have  not  seen  wonderful  progress 
in  the  historical  sciences  only;  under  the  pressure 
of  new  needs,  new  apologetical  methods  have  been 
tried.  Strange  to  say,  they  bear  remarkable  resem- 
blance to  that  of  Tertullian.  With  Brunetiere,  we 
find  ourselves  on  sociological  ground. ^  He  discovers 
actual  reasons  for  belief  in  the  satisfaction  which 
Christianity  gives  to  the  complex  social  aspirations 
of  his  time.^  It  was  this  consideration  which  brought 
about  his  own  conversion,  and  ever  since  he  labored 
to  show  that  society  has  no  solid  foundation  outside 

^  In  Revue  de  I'Histoire  des  Religions,  vol.  XXIII,  (1891) 

P-    1-35- 

^  Tertullien,  Etude  sur  ses  sentiments  a  I'egard  de  I'Empire 

et  sur  la  societe  civile   (Paris   1901)   p.   256. 

•5  Vol.  I.  p.   221.  4  Op.  cit.  p.   221. 

5  Sorel,  Crise  du  Catholicisme,  in  Rev.  de  IMet.  et  Mor. 
May,    1 901. 

^   Discours  de  Combat,   (Nouvelle  Serie)  p.  44. 


I40        TERTULLIAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS 

of  Christianity.^  There  is  no  great  difference  between 
his  point  of  view  and  that  of  TertulHan.  Both 
Apologists  are  confronted  by  the  same  opinion, 
though  not  expressed  in  the  same  manner,  that  the 
social  question  is  to  be  solved  by  politics.  As  the 
Roman  power  was  grounded  on  this  principle,  so 
are  the  systems  of  the  philosophers  whom  Brunetiere 
aims  to  influence.  Their  answer  to  these  respective 
claims  is  that  the  social  question  is  a  religious  one 
and  that  it  can  be  solved  only  by  the  doctrine  of 
Christ.^ 

The  short-lived  school  of  Immanence  once 
cherished  the  hope  of  finding  in  Christian  tradition 
the  germs  of  its  favorite  ideas.  TertuUian  was  then 
hailed  as  the  first  Apologist  of  the  Immanentist 
School,  and  not  infrequently  was  the  text  testimonium 
animae  naturaliter  christianae  cited  as  the  character- 
istic formula  of  what  was  then  called  the  New 
Apologetics. 3  It  is,  indeed,  a  strange  fate  for  a  thinker 
of  Tertullian's  mettle  that  he  should  be  claimed  by 
men  whose  rationalistic  principles  and  subtle  and 
shadowy  reasonings  he  would  have  fiercely  combated. 

We  may  legitimately  conclude  that  the  influence 
of  Tertullian's  Apologetics  has  been  profound, 
widespread  and  powerful  in  the  Christian  world. 
He  drew  from  the  soul  by  nature  Christian  and 
from  the  soul  supernaturally  Christian,  accents  so 
true,  so  deep  and  so  stirring  that  his  work  will  always 

^   Utilisation  dii  Positivisme,   (1905)  ch.  III. 

'   Ibid,  ch.  IV. 

^  Turmel,  TertuUian  (1Q05, )  p.  39;  Tyrrell,  Lex  Orandi, 
Introd.   p.  VIII, 


TERTULUAN  AND  HIS  APOLOGETICS        141 

live    and    hold    an  honorable     place    in     Patristic 
literature. 

Valiant  soldier  of  Christianity  though  he  was, 
the  defects  of  his  qualities  led  him  astray.  No 
Christian  heart  can  help  hoping  that  he  came  back 
to  the  fold  of  unity  to  end  in  peace  a  life  whose  better 
part  was  spent  in  the  cause  of  truth. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


I.  Manuscript.^ 

(i.)  The  first  class  of  MSS.  is  represented  by  a  codex 
of  the  IXth  century  commonly  called  the  Agohardinus 
{Parisinus  1622).  MSS.  of  the  same  family  were  used  by 
Gangneius,  Gelenius  and  Pamelius  in  their  respective 
editions.  The  Index  of  the  Agohardinus  shows  that  it 
originally  contained  some  treatises  which  are  found  in  no 
other  MSS.  Today,  however,  the  leaves  are  torn  at  the 
de  Came  Christi.  Although  this  class  of  MSS.  is  not 
altogether  free  from  glosses  and  interpolations,  it  is  acknowl- 
edged to  be  the  most  reliable  text  for  the  treatises  which  it 
has  preserved. 

(2.)  The  second  class  of  MSS.  dates  back  to  the  Xlth 
century.  To  it  belong  the  Montis pessulanus  307,  the  Pater- 
niacensis  439,  the  Hirsaugiensis  (now  lost  but  known  from 
the  first  edition  of  Rhenanus)  and  lastly  the  Gorziensis 
(also  lost  but  used  in  the  third  edition  of  Rhenanus).  These 
codices  offer  but  too  frequently  an  intentionally  altered 
text  of  Tertullian. 

(3.)  The  most  recent  class  of  MSvS.  is  made  up  of  various 
Italian  codices  of  the  XVth  century,  all  of  which  are  re- 
reducible  to  two  types:  the  5.  Marco  VI.  9,  and  the  5. 
Marco    VI.    10.     Closely  allied  to  the  latter  are  the    Vindo- 

Oehler,  Tertulliani  quae  supersunt  omnia,  Vol.  I.  Praefatio. — Reiffer- 
scheid.  Corpus  scriptorum  ecclesiaslicorum,  Vol.  XX,  Praefatio. — E.  Kroy- 
man.  Die  Tertullians  Ueherlieferung  in  Italian,  in  the  Sitzungsberichte  der 
Kaiserlichen  Akademie  der  Weissenschaften;  Vol.  138,  3.  (1898). — C.  Calle- 
vraert,  Le  meilleur,  manuscrit  de  I'Apologeticum,  in  the  Revue  d'histoire  et 
de  litterature  religieuse.  Vol.  7  (1902)  pp.  322-353. — d'Ales,  Theologie  de 
Terlullien,  Introduction,  pp.   12  sq. 


144  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

honensis  4196  and  the  Leydensis  2.    They  teem  with  arbitrary- 
corrections. 

(4.)  The  text  of  the  de  Jejunio,  the  de  Pudicitia  and  the 
de  Baptismo  can  be  gathered  only  from  the  editions  of 
Gangneius,  Gelenius  and  Pamelius  who  had  access  to  the 
MSS.    no  longer  extant. 

(5.)  The  fundamental  MSS.  for  the  Apologeticum  is  now 
thought  to  be  the  Fuldensis,  the  text  of  which  has  been 
preserved  by  the  edition  of  F.  Junius.  Other  available  codices 
are  the  various  Parisini  (especially  the  Parisinus  1623, 
Xth  century;  the  Parisinus  1656,  Xllth  century;  and  the 
Parisinus  2616,  XVth  century;  all  copies  of  the  same 
architype). 

II.  Editions. 

(A.)  Editions  of  the  complete  works: — Beatus  Rhenanus, 
Basileae,  ist  ed.  1521;  2nd  ed.  1528;  3rd  ed.  1539.  Joannes 
Gangneius,  Parisiis;  1545;  Sigismundus  Gelenius,  Basileae, 
1550,*  Jacobus  Pamelius,  Antwerpiae,  1579;  Renatus  de 
la  Barre,  Parisiis,  1580;  Franciscus  Junius,  Franekerae, 
1597;  Nicolaus  Rigaltius,  Parisiis,  1634;  Semler,  Plalle, 
1769-1776;  Migne,  in  Pntr.  Lai.  Vol.  I,  II.,  1844;  Oehler, 
Lipsiae,  1 853-1 854;  Reifferscheid  and  Kroyman  in  Corpus 
scriptorum  latinorum  ecclesiasticorum,  Vindobonae,  Vol. 
III.,  XX. 

(B.)  Special  editions  of  the  Apologeticum: — S.  Haver- 
camp,  IvCyden,  17 18;  Reprints — J.  Keyser,  Paderborn, 
1865;  H.  Hurter,  Innsbruck,  1877;  new  recension — P.  de 
Lagarde,  Gottingen,   1891. 

(C.)  Special  editions  of  the  de  Praescriptione: — H. 
Hurter,  Innsbruck,  1870;  E.  Preuschen,  Freiburg,  1892; 
T.  H.  Bindley,  Oxford,  1894;  Rauschen,  in  the  Florilegium 
Patristicum,  fas.  IV.,  Bonn,  1906. 

III.  Translations, 

Into  English:  Oxford  Translation;  Holmes  and  Thidnall 
in  the  Ante  Nicene  Fathers  (ed.  Coxe,  III.,  pp.  17-697; 
707-717;    IV.,  3-1 21). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  145 


IV.  Literature. 


Adam,    Der  Kirchenbegriff  Tertullians,   Paderborn,    1907. 

d'Ales,    Theologie    de    Tertullien,    Paris,    1905. 

Allard,  Christianisme  et  rEmpire  Romain,  Paris,   1898. 

Alston,  Stoic  and  Christian  in  the  2nd  Century,  London, 
1906. 

Aube,  Les  Chretiens  dans  I'Empire  romain,  Paris,  1881; 
L'eglise  et  I'etat  dans  la  seconde  moitie  du  seme  siecle, 
Paris,    1886. 

Audollent,  Carthage  Romaire,  Paris,  1901. 
Bardenhewer,     Geschichte     der     Altkirchlichen     Litteratur, 
Muenchen,  1903.;    English  translation  by  Shahan,  Fribourg, 
1908. 

Bayard,  Le  Latin  de  S.  Cyprien,  Paris,  1902. 

Bigg,  Journal  of  Theol.  T.  1.  p.  468,  April,   1904. 

Boehringer,  Tertullianus,  2nd  ed.,  Stuttgart,    1873. 

Boissier,  Religion  romaine  d'Auguste  aux  Antonins,  Paris, 
1 881;  Fin  du  Paganisme,  Paris,  1891;  Afrique  Romaine, 
Paris,    1893. 

Bouedron,  Quid  senserit  de  natura  animae  Tertullianus, 
Nantes,   1861. 

Burckardt,  Die  Seelenlehre  des  Tertullian,  Budissin,  1857. 

Cabrol,  Science  Catholique,  t.  5,  i,  Paris,   1891. 

Caucanas,  Tertullien  et  le  Montanisme,  Geneva,   1876. 

Ceilier,  Hist,  des  Auteurs  Sacres  et  eccl.,  Paris,  1750. 

Coenen,  De  Tertulliano,  L'^trccht,   1S25. 

Condamin,  S.  J.,  De  Tertulliano  christianae  linguae 
artifice,  Lyons,   1877. 

Courdaveaux,  Revue  de  I'histoire  des  religions,  Paris,  1S91. 

Diels,   Doxographi  Graeci,   Berlin,    1879. 

Duchesne,  Hist.  Ancienne  de  l'eglise,  Vol.  I.,  Paris,   1906. 

Ebert,   Histoire  de  le  litterature  latine  chretienne,   trad. 
Aymeric,   Paris,   1883. 

Esser,   Die  vSeelenlehre  Tertullians,   Paderborn,    1893. 

Freppel,    Tertullien,    3rd   ed.,    Paris,    1887. 

Fuller,  in  Dictionary  of  Christian  Biography — Smith, 
s.  V.  Tertullian, 

Grotemeyer,  Ueber  Tertullians  Leben  und  Schriften, 
Kempen,   1863. 

Gu'gnebert,  Tertullien,  Paris,   1901. 


146  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

IV.  Literature. 

Hall,    Tertullian    als    Schriftsteller    in    Preussische    Jahr-" 
buecher,  t.  88,  p.  266, —      1897. 

Hoppe,  Syntax  und  Stil  des  Tertullian,  Leipsic,  1903. 

Harnack,  Sitzungsb.  der  Acad,  des  Wiss.  zu  Berlin,  (1895), 
p.  561-579,  1894;  Chronologie  der  Altchr.  Literr:,  Leipsic, 
1904;  Lehrbuch  der  Dogmengeschichte,  3  ed.,  1905;  Die 
Missioii  und  Ausbreitung,   2   ed.,    1906. 

Hauck,  Tertullians  Leben  und  vSchriften,  Hrlangen,   1877. 

Hauschild,  Die  Grundsaetze  und  Mittel  der  Wortbildung 
bei  Tertullian,  Leipsic,  1876;  Ration,  Psychologic  und 
Erkenntniss  Theorie  Tertullians,  Frankfurt,    1880 

Hesselberg,  Tertullians  Lehre  a.us  seinen  Schriften  ent- 
wickelt,  Hamburg,   1851. 

Knaake,  Die  Predigten  des  Tertullian  und  Cyprian  in  the 
Theol.   Studien   pp.  606-639.,   1903. 

Kolberg,  Verfassung,  Kultus  und  Disziplin  der  Christ- 
lichen  Kirchenach  den  Schriften  Tertullians,  Braunsberg,i885 

Labriolle,  Tertullien  jurisconsulte,  in  the  Nouv.  Rev. 
Hist,  de  droit  francais  et  etranger,  Jan.  p.  5-27.,  Paris,  1906. 
De  praescriptione  hereticorum,  Paris,  1907;  L'argument  de 
prescripcion  in  the  Rev.  d'histoire  et  de  litterature  religieuse, 
Vol.  XI.,  p.  631,  Paris,  1906;    Vincent  de  Lerins,  Paris,  1906. 

Leblanc,  I.e  materialisme  de  Tertullien  in  the  Annales  de 
Philosophic  Chretienne,  pp.  415-423,  July,   1903,   1903. 

Leclerq,  Afrique  chretienne,   Paris,    1906. 

Le  Nourry,  Dissertatio  in  Tertulliani  Apologeticum,  in 
Migne   P.   L.   II., 

M'argerie,  De  Tertulliano — Opusculum  philosophicum, 
Orleans,   1855. 

Mason,  Tertullian  and  Purgatory,  in  the  Journal  of 
Theol.  Studies,  Vol.  Ill  p.  598-601.,  1902. 

Milman,   History  of  Latin  Christianity,   London,    1884. 

Monceaux,  Apulee,  Paris,  1889;  Les  Africains,  Paris, 
1894;  Histoire  litteraire  de  1' Afrique  chretienne,  I.  Ter- 
tullien et  les  origines,   Paris,    1901. 

Morcelli,  Africa  Christiana,  Brixiae,  1817. 

Neander,  Antignosticus,  Geist  des  Tertullian  und  Ein- 
leitung  in  dessen  Schriften,   2nd  ed.,   Berlin,    1849. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  147 


IV.  Literature. 


Neumann,  Die  Rocmische  Stadt  und  die  aligemeine 
Kirche,   I.,    1890. 

Noeldechen,  Tertullian,  Gotha,  1890;  Tertullian  als 
Mensch  und  als  Buerger,  Historische  Zeitschrift,  t.  54, 
p.  225,  1885. 

Norden,  Die  Antike  Kunstprosa,  II.,  606-615,  Leipsic,  1898 

Pagenstecher,  De  Jurisprudentia  Tertulliani,  Harderoviae, 

1743- 

Pichon,  Lactance,  Paris.  1901. 

Rabeau,  Culte  des  Saints  dars  I'Afrique  chretienne,  Paris, 
1903. 

Renan,    Marc   Aurele,    Paris, 

Reville,  La  Religion  a  Rome  sous  les  Severes,  Paris,  1886. 
Riviere,  S.  Justin  et  les  Apologistes  du  2eme  siecle,  Paris,  1907 

Ronsch,  Das  Neue  Testament  des  Tertullian,  Leipsic,  1871. 

Schanz,   Geschichte  der  rom.     Litt.   Ill,  2nd  ed.,   1905. 

Schlossman,  Tertullian  im  Lichte  der  Jurisprudenz,  in 
the  Zeitschrift  fur  Kirchengeschichte,  t.  XXVIIt,  pp.  251- 
275,    1906. 

Schmitt,  Die  Apologie  der  drei  ersten  Jahrhunderte, 
Mayence,   1890, 

Stier,  Die  Gottes  und  Logos  Lehre  Tertullians.  Gottin- 
gen,    1889. 

Stockl,  TertuUianus:  de  animae  humanae  natura;  et 
de   Tertulliani   doctrina   psychologica,    Muenster,    1863. 

Teuffel,  Geschichte  der  roemischen  Litt.,  Leipsic,  1890. 

Tillemont,  Memoires  sur  I'histoire  eccles.  t.  3,  Paris,  1698. 

Tixeront,   Jlistoire   des  dogmes.   Vol.   I.,   Paris,    1905. 

Turmel,  Tertullien,  Paris,  1905;  Hist,  de  la  Theologie, 
Vol.   I.,   Paris,    1904. 

Uhlhorn,  Fundamenta  Chronologiae  Tertull.,  Gottingen, 
1852. 

Winkler,  Der  Traditions  begrifl  des  Urchristenthums  bis 
Tertullian,  Munich,   1897. 


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